Facing Eviction, Woman Gets Surprise From Her Neighbors

A 70-year-old woman facing eviction from her longtime residence in Minneapolis not only gets to stay—she now owns the house outright. The Washington Post and Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder have the remarkable story of Linda Taylor, whose landlord gave her a two-month ultimatum last year year: She could buy the home for $299,000 or leave. Taylor had no hope of coming up with that kind of money, and it seemed she'd have to leave her residence of more than 15 years. Neighbors, however, got wind of her trouble and began a fundraising effort.

They also presented landlord Greg Berendt with a petition signed by more than 400 people asking him to extend the eviction deadline, which he did. Berendt also lowered the price to $250,000, which was still out of Taylor's reach—until the fundraising campaign by the Powderhorn Park neighborhood came through, bolstered by a six-figure donation from a local church. Taylor—who actually owned the home in 2004 before falling prey to a mortgage scheme—closed on the house at the end of May. “I knew my neighbors loved me, but I didn’t know how much,” she tells the Post. (More uplifting news stories.)