Love Builds a home for Linda

LOVE BUILDS A HOME FOR linda sherwood

It has been just three months since Love Builds launched in Paradise, and in that short period of time it has already accomplished what it originally set out to do—create and master a number of plans to expedite the approval process for building homes in Paradise, locate Camp Fire victims who needed help with rebuilding but were unable to do so due to finances, and connect those individuals with resources to eliminate the gap in finances preventing them from rebuilding. Thanks to partners like Academy Mortgage, Seventh Day Adventist Church, Lowe's, Maranatha Volunteers International, The Boys & Girls Clubs of the North Valley, and Frank Lewis of Nor Cal Construction, the lofty goals set out by these do-gooders came to fruition in an absolutely unbelievable timeframe. As a result of this incredible network of individuals and organizations, Love Builds' first client, Becky Portlock, will soon have her brand new home completed; construction on Ron Carmody's house just broke ground; and the remaining Love Builds clients are lined up to each break ground on their projects one month apart, provided the approval process continues at its current pace. With that, the first year of Love Builds applications has been filled, and the organization is well on its way to providing homes to those who need them most.

Though this outpouring of support has been unimaginable for the initial Love Builds client list, it quickly became apparent that a need existed not only on the end of finances, but time as well. For individuals like Linda Sherwood who were well-insured when they lost their home, finances were less of an issue than finding someone to build a house in the first place. "It was never a consideration to leave Paradise." Linda said, "I was going to fight through it, but any builder I talked to said it would be a year and a half from the start of next year before my home would be completed. Two years seemed like a long time, so I decided to rent for awhile, but with the increase in rental costs, my monthly payments went from a $600 mortgage to a $2,600 rental, plus a $1,000 PG&E bill due to the old home's lack of insulation. The further on I got, the more expensive things seemed to get. Not only was it going to take nearly two years Linda looked at modular homes, but they weren't clicking with her—the prices seemed to keep going up, and the wait to have one delivered seemed to follow suit. She heard about the Love Builds program and reached out to see if there was an opportunity to have her house built through them instead. As it turned out, there was.

Though the program had signed its last applicant for the year, Love Builds President, Mark Balken, reviewed her story and went back to the drawing board, looking for ways to bring the construction price of their plans down enough to work within her budget without the level of support needed for the initial volunteer builds. After days of crunching numbers, he managed to do just that through his own construction company, Mark Balken Construction.

"As soon as we talked, I just felt good." Linda said, "Things started falling into place—it was like a dream. I felt like I was in a fantasy land or something. I loved that Seventh Day Adventist was involved, and the whole thing spoke to me on a spiritual type level. I said, 'GO' four weeks ago, and things are already well on their way. They're a godsend. That's all I can say!"

Linda's birthday is April 3rd, and Mark plans to have her in her new home by then, with just enough time to host a well-deserved birthday bash. "We had to sharpen our pencils a bit, but our partners have offered to continue to help, even in these non-volunteer builds." Mark said, "Their generosity allowed us to significantly reduce the cost of each of these homes and make them fit within the budget of the vast majority of Camp Fire victims waiting to find a builder. As a result, we'll be able to offer our starter 752 square foot plan on a buyer's lot starting at just $179,000. In this current market, that's just unheard of." For Camp Fire victims like Linda who've already waited nearly three years to rebuild, it truly is a godsend.

With two home plans available starting at $179,000 on your property, Love Builds is giving Camp Fire victims an affordable opportunity to be home once again. Visit them at www.LoveBuildsParadise.com for more information and how to apply.