Janice Cottrill, an Ohio woman who evicted her 92-year-old father John Potter, a World War II veteran, allowed him to buy back his home that he lived in for 56 years.
Jaclyn Fraley, the granddaughter of Potter, raised nearly $140,000 via a GoFundMe.com petition to buy back the home. Cottrill refused to accept the offer, but it appears she recently changed her mind, according to reports on Friday.
She will accept the payment to buy back his home, reported WHAS-11. It comes before an eviction hearing at the Vinton County Courthouse on Oct. 3, which was postponed.
“I cannot thank all of you enough. It was your donations that made buying back his home possible!! It was also your love and support that helped us make it though these last few months. Grandpa and I are forever in your debt and all of you will be forever in our hearts,” Fraley wrote on GoFundMe Friday.
Potter lived in the home for decades. “I had this house for over 50 years before this took place,” Potter said of the matter. “It just knocked me for a loop and I have worried all day every day ever since and now I am so happy I don’t have to worry about it anymore.”
Potter received an eviction notice from her and his son-in-law earlier in the year. They said his lease was terminated.
“I want to express my appreciation for all those people who helped me,” Potter told WHAS. “It wasn’t one person, it wasn’t a hundred but over five thousand people and I certainly appreciate it more than they will ever know.”
Fraley told ABC News that the offer Cottrill accepted was “five figures,” which was less than the money raised. The rest of the raised money will be used to care for her grandfather.
Originally, Cottrill turned down an offer for $60,000, which is $10,000 more than the actual value of he house.
Cottrill took ownership of the house ten years ago, using power of attorney to take the deed. Potter did not learn that fact until around six years later.
At the time, Fraley told the New York Daily News that Potter would have had to leave.
“My biggest fear is the toll (the eviction) is going to take on him,” she said. “He’s 92, and I think about his health. Getting evicted is stressful enough when you’re healthy.”
