Is this year over yet?

[protege]

Seriously, what the hell is going on? I've been dealing with my dad's departure, his attempt at trying to destroy my mom financially, my breathing problems are back, my job sucks...and now my car is wrecked. Through no fault of my own, my vehicle is now sitting at the body shop. Some crackhead plowed into it on Thursday afternoon, and took off. Hit and run, no insurance, driving without a license...but at least the bastard got caught. His damaged car was found dumped in the middle of a street two blocks away.

Just when I finally manage to get out of the financial mess I find myself in (just about every expensive item I own has destroyed itself in some way), I get pulled right back in

[CyberLurch]

I feel your pain, and you are not alone. 2016 has been pretty harsh to me, as well. I've lost two friends (only a day apart), a badly-needed job, and some other (thankfully lesser) instances of rotten luck.

This year has been a suckfest, for sure. It's almost like all the Bad Things have decided to get together and have a year-long party. It's just been more and more bad news at every turn. And the Big Suck is still ahead; the Election from the Deepest Darkest Pits of Hell is nearly upon those of us in the US.

I wish I was naive enough to believe that it couldn't possibly get any worse, but sadly, such optimism was burned out of me long ago.

[protege]

...and now my car is written off. Seems the damage was worse than first though, and the insurance company decided not to bother fixing it. A few more days and the rental car period is over, meaning I have to buy a cheap used car.

[XCashier]

That really sucks. This year does seem to be one rotten thing after another. I hope you can find a decent, affordable car.

[taxguykarl]

Here is some info about getting some relief at tax time--not all your losses, of course:

Form 4684

Publication 547

Publication 584

Yes, you may PM me for more specific and detailed information.

[protege]

I thought it was about time I updated this thread...

Dad's still being an asshole. This time, he switched lawyers. Apparently, the firm he was with before...was under investigation for some pretty shady dealings. Now he's decided to inflate the value on the house he plans on leaving to my mom. Where he came up with the figure, I have no idea. Sure, the house has a new driveway and kitchen, but the rest of the place hasn't been updated or even painted since the 1980s. So now she's on the hook for an appraisal.

Due to this, she cannot even do basic repairs around the house. There are pipes leaking in the kitchen, some masonry repairs needed in the garage (I was taking care of this for her), and a cracked pipe on the utility room sink. She was told by her lawyer not to fix this crap, as to not drive the home's appraised value up. So there are now water bins under the sinks and wet towels on the floors...and a huge hole in the garage wall.

...and now that I've totally bummed you all out, there is some good news. Some of you already know this, but I picked up a newer car last weekend. Nothing fancy, a bright red 2013 Toyota Corolla S. I took the money received from the insurance company, and some cash that I somehow persuaded my dad to give me. I still don't know how that happened, since I'm not a Jedi Master. Anyway, I was able to put down most of the car, and financed the rest.

But most important? I was able to get out of the massive financial mess that I landed in. Just about every expensive item I owned managed to somehow destroy itself in a relatively short order. Things like the water heater (twice), furnace motor, vet bills, my own health issues, car problems, all had to go on the credit cards. It was either that, or freeze my ass off during the winter.

Two months ago, I was able to consolidate the mortgage and credit cards into a loan at a smaller interest rate. Last night, I took the escrow check, and paid off said credit cards and caught up on the bills. All that's on the card now, is the deposit to reserve the new car, and the fuel I had to put into the rental when I turned it in. That will get taken care of soon. I don't know about the rest of you, but not having several thousand in debt is (pardon my French) pretty fucking awesome.

[XCashier]

It's nice to get some good news. And Corollas are supposed to be very good cars. I hope this one is, and lasts you a long time.

I hope the appraisal happens soon and gets judged in your mother's favor. The sooner it happens, the sooner she can fix the problems and make the house livable again.

[taxguykarl]

Corollas are supposed to be very good cars. I hope this one is, and lasts you a long time.

Mrs. TGK had one and the techs were aghast the transmission was crapping out at only 100,000 miles. Her ex-h did not believe in preventive maintenance---our second date was changing the oil on that car.

II hope the appraisal happens soon and gets judged in your mother's favor. The sooner it happens, the sooner she can fix the problems and make the house livable again.

Sounds like it will be in her favor---$200 to $400 well spent. That same appraisal can also be used for a property tax appeal. Have her check the appraised verses assessed value...and ask the lawyer about tax appeals. When we re-fied in '11 the assessor set the value of our house at $25k more. Needless to say, our appeal went through. We hired a lawyer who specialized in property tax appeals and with a four month old appraisal, our case went to the top of her queue.
I agree with XC, good to hear some improvement here.

[ApolloSZ]

Toyotas are typically one of the reliable brands. My previous car was a Toyota Sprinter, would now be about 21 years old. Also, it (from memory) used the same engine as the old corollas. It did 220000 km's when I traded it in for my new baby (shuddup, I like my car :P). It had been maintained, which from memory I know you do do Protege, and the transmission etc was still the original, no metal flakes. Infact I only ever replaced the CV joints (front wheel drive), and the cam belt (And even then, we re-used the water pump).

Glad to hear things are picking up for you mate.

[EricKei]

On her utility room sink -- If she doesn't use it much, or has a reasonably close sink to use as an alternative, maybe one solution would be to shut off the valve for the sink (and bag the spout/handles to remind her not to use it. The wasted water will begin to add up on her water bill if not.

[protege]

Unfortunately, that's the only sink in the laundry room. Until the replacement I bought gets installed, she'll have to do the laundry at my brother's place. Ideally, I'd rip out the crap sink, install the new one, and to hell with the appraisal. But, as my dad's trying to screw her over yet again, I can't do that.

Come to think of it, I'm tempted to bash the living shit out of the utility sink, rip the bloody thing out, and run the washing machine's water pipe right down into the drain. Crude, but effective.

[Ironclad Alibi]

Come to think of it, I'm tempted to bash the living shit out of the utility sink, rip the bloody thing out, and run the washing machine's water pipe right down into the drain. Crude, but effective.

That won't help the appraisal any. Might bring it down some.

[taxguykarl]

That won't help the appraisal any. Might bring it down some.

That's the idea here, Iron. Keep the house value lower than protege's dad (and likely the county tax assessor) is claiming.

[protege]

Keep the house value lower than protege's dad (and likely the county tax assessor) is claiming.

Well that...and make it so my mom can use her washing machine again

But seriously, according to the county's real estate site, the value my dad has assigned to the house...is roughly twice what the county says it's worth. Why? Because he's an asshole, and trying to punish my mom again.

[taxguykarl]

according to the county's real estate site, the value my dad has assigned to the house...is roughly twice what the county says it's worth. Why? Because he's an asshole, and trying to punish my mom again.

So we'll wait for the appraisal and mom can then legally shaft them both