Zillow is inaccurate

Agreed. In fact, if you choose not to, the non-military spouse has to sign a form agreeing to that. But the pension amount to the surviving spouse is less so that may account for some financial difficulty.

I highly recommend she sell and downsize to something she can afford before she loses any remaining equity and finds herself in 8A housing. I would gladly help her move and help her sell this house voluntarily and free of any charge, but I would not give a penny for someone to keep a home with a pool and a golf course view that they cannot afford.

I think this whole situation is sad. Posters offering unsolicited advice, speculating on her financial situation, virtue signaling.

This all amounts to a gross violation of her privacy. Her name and other personal information should never have been made public. I hope she doesn’t read this board.

At least she is getting some advise but agreed her name should not have been made public.

She may or MAY NOT have a pension coming in. Military members opt for survivor benefits or NOT while they are active duty. If they opt for survivor benefits, they get less take-home pay. Some choose for the higher paycheck and forego the survivor benefits.

I am thankful that I do not need to make such decisions. The reason why I would not accept any position where I would need to make such decisions,

I expect there are missing details. Borrow money to have the screens done? Doesn't sound like she can possibly pay it back. Contractor can't do her screens for 12-14 weeks. Sounds like it is more than just replacing the screens. I would think as far as management they are not out to get people. I would hope that if she can show that she has an agreement to have the screens they would grant her an extension. I also expect the management did not look to catch her neighbors have complained.

I am not a financial advisor. She might explore one of those home equity deals. They are expensive but she could raise the money she needs and keep living in her home.
Perhaps, a relative would agree to a similar deal where she could stay in the home?

It is a sad situation-truly sad.

What about a reverse mortgage? There is probably a lot of equity in the home.

Since members of her church are helping her pull weeds, as the original story stated, it is curious the church membership isn’t more involved in helping find a reasonable solution.

The seller of same is who it helps..

I think if you read all of the estimates by realtor.com, Zillow etc. they come pretty close to what the house will sell for.

I wonder if the woman is impaired if she is living in such an expensive way and there is a relatively easy way out. I am not trying to be insensitive. It looks like a bad situation only getting worse when she could list it and sell it and live cheaper somewhere else. Maybe she is unable to make decisions. I don't know what happens when there is no family to guide one. Is this a matter for social workers?

Depending on the equity in the house she may consider taking a reverse mortgage to help her get through it. If she wants to discuss it I although do not do reverse mortgage s can discuss it with her. Over 37 years in the mortgage business. And I bought my home using a reverse

Sounds like a prime candidate for a reverse mortgage.

This situation is very sad and we all sympathize. I'm sure nobody expects to lose a spouse so soon into retirement. None of us can know who will live outlive who or for how long. That's why it is so critical for good financial/retirement planning, both for worst case scenario and different contingencies.
When my spouse retired after 20+ years service, we decided together to turn down the SBP. We found it quite pricey for the benefits received, especially since it banked on the spouse outliving the retiree by a lot of years to make it worth the cost. What we did was take that same premium amount and bought really good life insurance policies on both of us and invested the rest on our own. My spouse made sure that whenever the time comes that something happens to him, I'd be taken care of, something he learned from his father. Either one of us left behind will 'downsize' when that time comes. It's being practical versus an overly sentimental attachment to a house.
That said, we know very little facts, just a lot of guessing. However, the situation is just not sustainable as it is. The homeowner apparently cannot afford to keep and maintain this large home with a pool on the golf course by herself. Is the pool ever even used? Let's say hypothetically she puts the house up for sale. If there is no money for repairs, then the house would have to sell as is, which means she will not get top dollar and have to settle for a lower price. However, there are many adorable patio villas and cottages for less than half that which would leave her some money leftover to live on for a while, a fresh start so to speak, or even moving outside TV that would be even cheaper. There are many of us who can't afford a pool home on a golf course. I agree with posters that said throwing money at the immediate issues is just a short term fix and doesn't help in the long run. There are too many unknowns; are there any family/relatives? How much can the church or neighbors help out and for how long? Maybe there are cognitive issues, not uncommon at that age. Perhaps there are physical limitations to prevent taking care of so much home. What we do know is this did not happen yesterday or overnight. The spouse passed 8 years ago. People bite off more than they can chew all the time with a big house and then are cash poor. Then one partner loses a job, or gets sick, or dies, losing the income needed to pay the bills - it's just not sustainable.
It makes me think of another possibility; my parents had a thing for many years known as "decision paralysis." Any time there was anything that needed a decision, a choice, or a course of action, they were incapable of making the decision, big or small. Instead of choosing, they would do nothing; they'd stick their heads in the sand and ignore it, hoping it would go away. Not committing to a course of action is in itself a 'choice.' They would always wait until the choice was taken out of their hands. It was so frustrating. It is difficult to help anyone who does not want to accept help, even when providing solutions to a problem. Just saying there might not be much people can do other than to try and point a person in the right direction for financial counseling/budgeting, APS, social worker, elder law, etc.

Go fund me used to take 5%
 

and there was another 2.9% for another agent not a bad bang for your buck when you look at most charities, but they just announced that they will stop taking the 5% they do good work , they got hit with bad press after that homeless vet scam went public blew up all over the news but what was much less publicized was that go fund me payed back every donor they have helped many people lots of success stories

I am equally as appalled by people asking for help or financial aid for their causes and presenting a story for a "Go Fund Me.".

I think that many Go fund me's are private money makers for the person reporting a sad situation about another. There is nothing wrong for people checking information when folks are asking for money. If this person is in dire straits and allowing her nice home to fall into serious failure, it is not a simple, give her money or organize a committee. I am tired of hearing of those kinds of solutions and tired of others thinking that people want pity or a handout. That is why I said that she must have something amiss that is not allowing her to see the reality of her situation. I imagine her neighbors know and well may have tried to help.

I agree that it can't be solved here but as many others have said it appears her home is worth enough to sell and to find a less expensive place to live. To me that is a simple solution, that most people would choose to do.

There is nothing creepy about doing a few clicks to see just what is going on.

Actually this really isn't what "doxing" is. This is someone asking to give money to someone and without finding the details it could also be "scamming." Doxing is generally done with malicious intent and obtained via hacking to expose someone one doesn't like in which case it is likely illegal. The info posted in the first post is public record and wasn't obtained by hacking or illegal means. However in this specific case someone is asking for financial help for someone allegedly in need and for the most part this case it is actually doing one's due diligence.

It seems like the OP posted this based on knowledge of this person who needs help. The OP should clear up whether he posted this with or without the persons permissions. SEEMS LIKE it was prearranged between OP and the lady in question. If not the thread should be removed.

You do not know this.

Thank you for providing the correct definition of 'doxing.'

Finally, someone that knows the system facts

It appears she needs a financial advisor more than anything.

That is in line with what my mother got when my father died and he was a government employee.

She has no mortgage and low income. How would she be able to rent from you. She needs to sell out right and down size or do a reverse mortgage if she just can seem to sell

Just so you all know, Go Fund Me takes a considerable amount in fees.

House should have been sold when commitments weren't met - why should people have to bail someone out for not making good decisions?

Where are the rest of us?????????

Have you ever paid off someone's debts? I have.

such compassion is overwhelming.

That isn't fair. Or kind. Money is a powerful helping tool if we use it carefully and wisely. It is not a lack of compassion to question these matters. Wasting money is not helpful to anyone.

Can I get her phone no. To tell her I am trying to line up someone now who did ours and was reasonable. Or tell her Antonio Mendez says he can stop by tomorrow and give an estimate. And he would do the work on the weekend. This is Gayle Hancock 352-801-3832

Selling and getting a patio villa makes the best sense. Less space to take care of and lots of cash in the bank.

There are too many unanswered questions. Go Fund Me is not the solution.
1. Is this woman mentally competent, does she need a guardian ordered by a Judge?
2. Does she have family, who would protect her interests, in refinancing, helping to bring her home up to code and with financial matters? A trusted friend or advisor?
3. The Vietnam Veterans Club could help navigate or give direction to the investigation of discontinued benefits. And determine if additional benefits may be available.
4. She maybe entitled to County and/or State benefits based on her annual income.
What Agencies are available in the Tri-County area that could assist?
5. There are many senior programs via the State of Florida. See Florida Resource Directory - Aging.com.

Blessings to all.

That are for profit company
 

they take 2.9% much better then charities

If no one has personally spoken with her to find out what the facts are regarding her finances and lack of maintaining the property than everything posted on this thread is assumption. I have been helping distressed people with their properties for almost 3 decades and I am a licensed Realtor in 2 states which is "law based". My comments are based on "willing to help" and not knowing what the end result answers are until I am able to have a conversation with the home owner. I also "tithe" weekly/monthly/yearly as my way of giving back or paying it forward in appreciation for my financially blessed life. My comments are offered with a pure intent and trying to think outside of the ordinary to help someone who appears to need help. Maybe she does not want help, I do not know. No one can come up with the answer for her until they speak with her.

It's not about "saving" her, this post was originally written by someone with a compassion for someone who seems to be in distress and I also, a person of compassion have offered to help with either fixing the house for her at my expense or purchasing the house and letting her live out the remaining time of her life without pressure. Simple and sincere. Not everyone is shady just an FYI.

So you would not recommend someone offering to pay for her lanai to be fixed without asking the woman to pay it back? There are still good people in the world who have a sincere motivation to help someone in distress. It's clear that I will keep my opinion to myself and will continue to help people whenever I can and however I can. It was an offer to help.

I understand everyone’s desire to help but if she can not afford to maintain the property now, she will not be able to maintain it after it has been brought into compliance. Fixing her property is only a temporary solution to what seems a long term problem.

I could be wrong, but I do not believe that to be true.
First- the woman said “he was IN the military until he passed”. That would indicate HE was NOT retired.
Second- I do believe pension benefits STOP upon death. According to these posts he was active, so pension is a moot point.
HE needed to sign up for SBP ( survivor benefit plan) which is an insurance plan geared towards the spouse not being left high and dry. They can insure their spouse OR their children for up to 55% of their earnings. It depends on how much u want to spend on this insurance. If he had , had multiple spouses he had to choose one or the other.
Third- how did u come up with his SS benefits, last I heard that was not public info

Doxxing: The original letter, which was published on another website, was someone publishing someone else's identifying information (their name, address, marital status, the fact that they can't afford their home). The original post on THIS website (talk of the villages) took that personally identifying information that had been published somewhere else, and made absolutely SURE that it continued to be published, by spreading the information.

That, by definition, is doxxing. The "malicious intent" is "typically" not "always." Definitions are pretty precise. When a definition includes "typically" it's because whatever follows the word is not universally true.

And yes Gracie - clicking a few clicks IS absolutely positively doxxing, when you post (thereby publishing) the results of those clicks. You're one of the people who do it on a regular basis, so of course you won't recognize it for what it is.

Can you still be reached
 

at that address in Nigeria??

sell it
 

that is a huge house - time to sell and move to an affordable unit