Not quite sure how to start this story, I’ve never done anything like this before at 50 years old. I give you my word that I will be honest and I’ll explain straight from the heart how things got to this because I just went a little… overboard.
My daughter, just moved out of the house and I was longing to start my own business dealing in real estate for as long as I can remember. I had my real estate license but what was not working full-time, just dabbling a little bit selling a house here and there. Covid had hit and things were pretty slow but then things started getting a little busier and I thought what a perfect time to get my real estate business going and try to take my mind off the empty nest syndrome from my daughter leaving home. So I went ahead and I got my real estate brokers license.
Wendy: Things really started to take off and I couldn’t believe it. I was just starting to get busy and I ended up having a family emergency. My sister Wendy came to live with me in Florida at my house from New York because we really don’t have a large family and I’ve always been the older sister and my sister really needed me and she needed to be near family. My sister is handicapped she was born with brain damage, and due to that brain damage she had a lot of neurological issues that resulted from that. In addition to the brain damage, she had bipolar disorder and I guess you could gauge her at a fifth grade level at age 43. The idea was to have Wendy live with me until we found her a really awesome assisted living facility. Then she would be near me so she had family and she always wanted to move to Florida so I thought oh my gosh this would be so great. I knew I wasn’t prepared to take care of her exactly how she needed to be taken care of but I figured we could get by until we got her settled in the new place.
Well now it’s almost three years later, I just couldn’t believe how difficult it was to get her the help here in Florida that she had in New York. I couldn’t find anybody to help us. I tried everything it was just so difficult and I am needing to work and I am needing a caretaker, I am spending all my days at doctors appts and dealing with medication changes and her healthcare keeps getting dropped and everything and anything was going wrong. I’m trying to work and I’m doing 12 hour days seven days a week in between all of this and trying to keep my business afloat. I started to realize that my sister started getting more severe bipolar episodes, and she just couldn’t control her mood. I’m starting to find I can’t control her in a way where she’s talking to people online and putting herself in danger and I was desperate for help. It wasn’t her fault she’s the sweetest thing in the world it was due to her condition.
Bonnie + Marilyn : As all of this is going with my sister, I am trying to take on new clients. My sister barely has any money coming in, so I am trying to take care of her financially. I have these two clients, I’m helping them sell their homes and buy new homes and they’re both in a really bad way.
One is Marilyn. She’s an older lady in her mid 70’s who is somewhat disabled and can’t really walk kind of stuck in a chair all day she’s just so sweet and we become such good friends. Well, I help her to sell her home and get a new home and it’s not just your typical deal in real estate. I am packing her house now I’m doing things that are over and above because she just has nobody to help her. I’m hoping with some of my closing money maybe I could pay someone to help me a little bit more. Now she’s needing somebody to drop food off to her. It’s just starting to really get out of control, but I continue to help. I just have to make clear I love this lady. We became very close.
The Other is Bonnie. She is another older lady in her mid-70s who is somewhat disabled. When I met Bonnie I noticed that the police were knocking on her door and that her house was going to be foreclosed upon and I knew I already was in deep it with everything going on and with Marilyn and realize how in the world can I let this other wonderful lady I know, lose everything and end up in a shelter. She was two weeks away from the bank, taking her home. I called my real estate lawyer friend and he stops the foreclosure and the bank gives us three months to sell her house the side manage to do. Before I do that, though, I go into Bonnie’s house, and she is a hoarder. So I start digging her out. I just have to say that I absolutely love this woman to like what the hell is going on here. These are wonderful people and these horrible things are happening. I managed to get her house, cleaned out, sell it and got her new condo in on closing day. She falls and shattered her leg and ends up in a rehabilitation center. She never even spends one night in the new condo that I got her. It’s almost a year and a half later and she’s still in the rehab center and I’m trying to get her into a nicer place and I’m trying to rent out her condo and I’m hiring lawyers to help me. But there’s so many hurdles and it’s just money, money, money and oh my gosh. I’m falling behind now on her HOA payments. I am on the verge of losing her condo. I’m hoping to keep it in the hopes that she can come back to it eventually if she gets better. I’m putting in money for everybody and it’s just not enough.
While, all of this is going on I’m finding work is getting slow. It’s just super slow right now. I get some other deals work on them. I am so proud I get $1 million listing and I don’t know how I’m doing all this but I’m doing it I’m like this is going to get us all out of the hole here. The buyer can’t come up with the money like the day before closing. There was no warning no nothing so now we’re trying to get this buyer some help so the deal will go through but there ain’t no money coming in at all now.
No gas money, I took out a car title loan on my car, it’s due and if I don’t pay it, they’re going to come take my car and my mortgage, can pay it, all is going to go on my credit and any chances of getting anything resolved is slowly fading. I need to help Marilyn come up with some mortgage payments and I need to pay Bonnie’s HOA, which is well over $6000 at this point. This progressively is getting worse and I can’t pay any bills at all. I’m just trying to get a home equity loan and I can’t seem to do that because my credit and my business it’s too risky.. I really just wanted a loan and I don’t know why I can’t get one. I am just so frustrated and been for a long time just banging my head against the wall with no results and I’m tired and I’m just to my breaking point. I’ve got all these people relying on me and I’ve given so much of my own money that it’s all gone overboard. I have less than 48 hours to come up with at least $10,000. If I lose my car it’s over for everyone.
Wendy: so I wasn’t having all these stresses I just get down and pray, and just cry and I don’t cry. My sister ends up in the hospital due to severe episodes of the bipolar disorder and she is completely out of control. Things just got really bad. I don’t know what to do about my sister I’m sick because I am like her protector and I just can’t get any help. I don’t know what to do and Five minutes later I swear it was a miracle I get a call from the social worker at Park Royal where they have her and this woman says to me I can’t believe it took you going through this and all of you to get the help you needed and she said from now on we’re gonna help you with your sister and it was such a miracle then I cried for a week out of tears of joy.
I got her into a wonderful living facility with a 24 hour caretaker and the social worker I call her art angel she has just done so much for us and Wendy’s so happy and it’s hard for me because I miss her so much like my heart is broken but she is getting all the help she needs. I can visit her anytime and she can come spend the night here and there. It’s still been quite a transition, and it was quite a bit of money to get her set up and transferred to her new home. It won’t be long and they will be using programs that will help her financially but it’s still gonna take some time and I’m still having to dish out a ton of money.
I am still working long days and every day and I can’t remember the last time I’ve had a day off and years maybe one or two not giving up and I keep trying and I have new deals coming, but I am months away from closings and just in dire straits. Bonnie, Marilyn + Wendy they need help and I need help to keep everybody above water. I can’t even describe how much money I’ve put up the past few years that has put me in this position. I know maybe it’s my own fault, but I still wouldn’t have done anything different.
A little while back, my health started to deteriorate I’m sure from the long hours in the stress, and I had to have six surgeries, and somehow managed to keep all of this going, but I’m just out of gas. I did get my health back. I just hope it doesn’t go south again..So I’m trying to get together as much money as I possibly can to help with all of this and just get back to normal. I do have closings coming in 2 to 3 months I’d say, I just need some help from here to there, not just for myself, but for all of us. I don’t know what I’ll do if I lose everything. I don’t know what I’ll do if these people I care about lose everything. Just praying for another miracle like the one I got for my sister Wendy.
If I had the money and the people to help me I would continue to help people who have issues like this.
I don’t know if I’m supposed to put a number on this.. But a good goal would be a donation of: $50,000
I’d even take a loan if anybody knows anyone who will work with me in my current situation. I wanted to take out a home equity loan for $300K to get back on track for all of us and to expand my business and get the help, I need to run that.. I know my business can be successful if I can hire the people I need to help. I just need help to even get the loan.
I want to say thank you for anybody who can help…. Means the world to me!
Here is the link to my PayPal for any donations:
Angela Plante@APlante48
Fort Myers, FL