Hi, I'm Lorenzo, and the little tuxedo guy in the photo with me is Anubi. A few months ago, I had what I thought was a solid and carefully planned path to a new home: sell my previous apartment, buy a new one, take out a mortgage I could afford, renovate the apartment and move in with Anubi. I had worked out the costs and set aside a budget for the renovation and for the unexpected things that inevitably come with it. Unfortunately, things didn't go according to plan.

While I was preparing the purchase, my employer stopped paying my salary. I had a permanent employment contract, but during the mortgage application the bank carried out its checks on my employer and concluded that the company did not meet its reliability criteria. Despite my permanent contract, my mortgage application was declined. I eventually managed to secure a mortgage through a different lender, but at a significantly higher interest rate than I had originally planned for. In the meantime, I kept working for five months without receiving my salary. Leaving immediately would have meant losing the permanent employment contract I needed to have any chance of obtaining a mortgage, so I found myself in a difficult situation: I needed the mortgage to complete the purchase, but I needed to remain employed to get the mortgage, even though I wasn't actually being paid. As soon as the mortgage was finalized, I resigned. The dispute over the unpaid wages is now being handled through legal proceedings.

By then, five months without a salary, the more expensive mortgage and the delays to the purchase had already taken a significant toll on the financial cushion I had built for the project. Then the renovation brought its own setbacks. The original budget was around €30,000, but the work took considerably longer than expected and additional costs began to accumulate. Among other things, the electrical system required a much larger intervention than initially planned, additional workdays were needed, and other unforeseen work came up along the way. I'm still waiting for the final invoice, so I don't want to claim an exact amount for these additional costs before I actually have it. Because the apartment wasn't ready when it was supposed to be and I had to leave the place where I was staying, I also had to pay for temporary accommodation, adding roughly another €500 in expenses.

Through all of this, Anubi has been along for the ride. Cats don't understand mortgages, unpaid salaries, construction delays or legal disputes. They just know where their person is. Over these months he has adapted with me to boxes, temporary arrangements and a life that has been much less settled than the one I had planned for us. I've covered the purchase, the renovation and as many of these unexpected expenses as I possibly can myself. I'm not asking strangers to pay for my home or reimburse a €30,000 renovation. I'm trying to raise enough to help cover just a portion of the unexpected costs that accumulated after my original plan fell apart, and to give me a little breathing room while I look for work and deal with the ongoing legal dispute. The photos show some of what the apartment and our lives have looked like during this process, and I have documentation for some of the additional expenses, including temporary accommodation. I will also update the fundraiser as the final renovation costs become available, with personal information redacted.

If you can contribute even a small amount, it would genuinely help. If donating isn't possible, sharing this fundraiser would mean a lot too. After months of construction dust, suitcases, temporary places and boxes, I'm just trying to finish what I started and finally give Anubi and myself a place that feels like home.

https://gofund.me/b210ffbbb

Thank you for taking the time to read our story.

Hi everyone! I’m taking on the 2026 TCS New York City Marathon, and I’m equal parts excited and terrified to say I’ll be running all 26.2 miles. 😅
As part of my entry, I’m fundraising for Team for Kids, NYRR’s youth program that helps bring free running and fitness programs to kids in communities across the country.
Running has become a really meaningful challenge for me personally. There’s something about choosing a goal that feels slightly ridiculous, putting in the work one run at a time, and slowly realizing your body is capable of more than you thought. Getting to do that while raising money to help more kids have positive experiences with running makes the whole thing feel even more worthwhile.
I’m working toward my fundraising goal now, so I wanted to share my page here in case anyone feels inclined to support. Even a few dollars genuinely helps, and I’d be incredibly grateful.

💙 Fundraiser:
https://fundraisers.nyrr.org/hannah-james

Donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law, and donors will receive a tax receipt from New York Road Runners.

And no pressure whatsoever if donating isn’t possible, encouragement, marathon advice, NYC race-day tips, and recommendations for surviving increasingly long training runs are also very welcome. 😂
Thank you, and hopefully I’ll see some of you out there in November! 🗽🏃‍♀️