Have you ever been sitting in your vehicle, and someone comes around and knocks on your window asking for a handout? This has happened to me several times and it is a prevalent occurrence. And how do you manage it? My guest this week, a real estate broker in Long Island New York and a recognized author spoke to this unfortunate problem of over 500,000 homeless people including children that cities are facing across this country. However, ever wondered where this is most pervasive? Here is your answer, the four of the 10 cities with the highest homeless ratio in North America are found in San Jose, San Francisco, San Diego, and Los Angeles California. No doubt, it must be the weather and the opportunity because of tourism and other factors.
Incidentally, the worse in the world for homelessness are the Philippines with approximately 4.5 million of which 3 million of them are found in the city of Manila. And what is so disheartening, it has been reported that around 250,000 children are found on the streets on a nightly basis. Children are so vulnerable and take the brunt of adult making decisions or the lack thereof. According to my guest, it is due to personal challenges such as mental health, joblessness, drug abuse, and many time domestic violence for women. And there is much controversy in how to mitigate this issue. My guest was telling me that homelessness has become even generational, where she has seen children grow up in shelters into adulthood. This is not a place to grow up she said. She compared shelters to being prison, where you must buzz in and buzz out, and violence is a common occurrence. It does explain why many prefer to sleep on the streets. As society struggles and grapples with homelessness, what can you do personally? Not to demonize anyone, however, first and for most, you must intuitively stay cautiously safe when approached by a homeless person, she said. Never pull out your wallet to give them money, unless you want to support their substance abuse, if any, and this would be a tremendous disservice, not to mention exposing you to danger. She proceeded to tell me that she often carries a gift certificate for a meal, water bottle or simply a granola bar, this would be an immediate help to the homeless person. Regardless of who approaches you on the street for a handout, listen to your intuition. But Some may exclaim, "but he was so charming and clean cut!" My only personal response to that is, so was Ted Bundy! While being a homeless person is not a crime in of itself, however, there is conduct that is illegal and should be reported. This includes intoxication, trespassing, fighting, relentless panhandling with a threatening overtone, obstructing sidewalks, camping out in a vehicle parked on a public street, and yes, urinating/defecating in public. But again, the foregoing reflects mental health and many time induced by a variety of substance abuse. Having said that, it is often that homelessness is brought upon by unemployment. Did you know that there were about 1.6 million homeless during the so-called Great Recession in 2008? There was widespread unemployment and obviously many were not able to maintain their home. I call it so-called recession, because is it not true that, when your neighbor loses his job, it is a Recession, however, when (you) lose your job, it is a Depression? Currently, in this year of 2022, there was a negative Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for two consecutive quarters of this year, and this constitutes an official recession regardless of what you hear in the media. So how do you maintain your home if you are facing an impending job loss? Hopefully, the following tips will be helpful. First, never ever wait for your job to fizzle out but be initiative-taking in repositioning yourself into a new job or create a side hustle to bring in income to precure the necessities of your family. Keep in mind to prioritize as to what is more important, the roof over your head and your vehicle that gets you to your job and back. of course, you can break it down from there into more details, such as groceries and utilities. If you get behind on your mortgage, immediately call your lender and ask for the mitigation department, they will collaborate with you based on your current income, and it is not like qualifying for a new mortgage whatsoever called a loan modification. If any questions on this approach, let me know and I will guide you through the process without any obligation. Another approach is filing for chapter 7 bankruptcy to stop an impending foreclosure, of course, this will not save your home but will buy you time to strategize. And there is chapter 13, this will allow you to spread your mortgage payments that are in arrears over a three- or five-year period providing your income is sufficient. Push comes to shove, sell your home, and use the proceeds to get into more affordable housing. Again, reach out to me if you have any questions, and we can discuss your options, for we cannot afford to lay low in the tall grass.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
June 2024
Categories |