"I thought life was going to go a little bit differently—I didn’t think I was going to be living by myself, but I did. I got sick and I was finally diagnosed with late-stage Lyme Disease. It’s not covered by insurance. I couldn’t pay medical bills and a mortgage. It was impossible for me to do both. So, I sold my home for how much I owed and moved to Capitol Hill.

Rent kept creeping up, so again I was a having a hard time keeping up with that and my treatment. I love living in Capitol Hill, I love the convenience, I like not needing a car to get around, that’s my ideal living situation. I shopped for a home in that area for six months. I placed offers on 13 different homes and I lost all of them in a blowout. I was getting destroyed by offers that were going for over asking.

So I ended up finding the house in South Park. But mold from water damage made me incredibly sick. So I threw a bunch of food in a backpack, and grabbed the dogs, and I fled. I think the best logical step is to walk away from my mortgage. My realtor doesn’t think anyone would buy it in its current state. So, I’d most likely default on my mortgage. It’s funny that I’m as broke as I am because I worked a Microsoft for 7 years; I make six figures. I am the epitome of what success looks like, but here I am.  

Seattle’s current housing situation is very frustrating. There are two camps of people: people who see development as part of a beautiful urban lifestyle, then there’s other people who don’t want their neighborhood to change. They don’t want new people moving into their neighborhoods. But a city’s going to change either way. It is possible to develop a neighborhood while keeping it affordable and preserving the culture.

Some things are going to change. I mean there are some very big lots where we can build townhouses and have more units, so things will look a little different, but I think culturally we can keep things the same."