Love's Real Stories

Rebuild

“There must not be much action up in Paradise, huh? What with the Covid shut-down and everything,” said my brother-in-law at our Fourth of July get-together, over on the Coast.

“Well, it’s surprising,” I said, “the building lots are selling, and over a thousand Building Permit applications are in. Houses are going up.”

True. Lots are selling, but a good portion of the lots in Paradise aren’t for sale. A good portion of those Building Permit applications are from Paradise fire victims not selling their lots. They are determined to restart. And some fire victims who left the North State area, or left California entirely, are returning.

“I’m just dumb enough to go back,” said Richard, a Paradise construction guy who’s been living in the West Valley. “I never did like it down in Chico. It’s okay out here where I’m at, but it’s not Paradise. My lot up there is a mess. The trees are all gone, but I’m gonna go out on a limb and rebuild. Back to my roots, if you know what I mean.”

An Agent In my office said, “I’m working with three clients who moved away after losing their homes in Paradise and have decided to move back. They are selling the homes they bought right after the Camp Fire. Two of them are selling at a loss. All three plan on rebuilding.”

One of those clients happened to have called me about a month ago, left me a voice mail.

“My husband and I knew the old Paradise Cowboy, Lee, you wrote about, who got knocked out, and laid flat down in the ditch while his house burned and his dogs died, too. A friend of ours sent us that article. We cried. And then we laughed. What was it he said? ‘I’m just a little older than the hills, but I can still ride bulls.’ And, ‘I’m a hard-headed old cowboy. We take it as it comes.’ That tough old dude made it. And he was determined to rebuild.” Her husband chimed in: “We moved out here to Idaho, but it’s not home. Home is Paradise. We’re coming back. After we heard Lee died, a year after he survived that damn fire, we decided we needed to come home.” The guy was choking up.

I talked to Deb, our supermarket checker who lost her house in Paradise and moved to Oregon right after the fire. Deb returned from Oregon last year, saying, “The grass might look greener somewhere else, and we have plenty to complain about here, but this is the best place to live. This is home.” It’s been a long road for Deb, moving around, dealing with fire insurance, figuring out how to rebuild, whether it’s worth it, where to call home. This day she told me she had just bought a house in Glenn County.

“So, I guess you’ve decided to live there,” I said.

“Oh no,” said Deb, “I’m determined to get back to Paradise. It’s beautiful. I want to be home, on my property. I know it won’t be the same, but I’m going back. I love that area!”

She’s not the only one.

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October 12, 2020

You Rang

It seems when I bring up the Camp Fire in these little articles, the result is a heightened interest from you, the readers. Your communications come pouring in. And I do love receiving the emails, texts, and phone calls.

Last column, I mentioned the Camp Fire stories and personal experiences you have related to me over the last two years. You responded with even more. I heard from you in Paradise, Concow, Butte Valley, and my home territory, Butte Creek Canyon. Many of you are displaced and moved away, many of you are rebuilding or planning on it.

In that last column I also told you of the reader, RW, who sent me her methods of Fire Preparation and Fire Evacuation, hand-written on yellow lined paper, full of great advice for all of us. A few of you have asked about it. If you want a copy of her handiwork, let me know and I will shoot it your way.

One guy left a message:

“Hey, good morning, Doug, this is Paul in the Care Center here in Chico. I’m a patient here. I’m dealing with a bad hip, of course. I wanted to let you know I was in Paradise the day the fire started. I was in a Care Home up there and they had to evacuate all of us. I’ll never forget that fire, the memory is always with me. We weren’t sure we were going to make it out. Paradise is a beautiful town and will never die. It will come back again. I guarantee it! Thanks for your time. You have a great day. Bye-bye.” Paul sounds to me like a kindly Uncle, concerned for my stress, never mind his problems.

A guy from Paradise called me. “Joe here,” he said. “I have spent the last two years designing and planning my rebuild. I’m coming back leaner and meaner, and fire-PROOF!” He paused, expecting a reaction, I supposed.

“Wow,” I offered.

“Yeah. Any building material that will burn is off my list. The trees are gone, so I don’t have to worry about them anymore. The view is better now, anyway. Here’s the key: my groundcover will be no-burn. Concrete and asphalt.”

I was pondering that visual, when Joe said, “Don’t get me wrong. It will be Sunset Magazine beautiful. The concrete will be exposed aggregate flatwork with asphalt borders. Shrubbery will be inset in boxes. Benches and tables made of light-weight concrete will be placed here and there. Umbrellas for shade. A couple of trellises with flowery vines. I’m on over an acre, so everything will be spread out and totally defensible. You’ll have to come see it when we’re done!”

“That would be great,” I said. “Thanks for the information.”

“Here’s the other key,” said Joe. “And everybody should consider this. My front fence will be green or grey grid-wire and will be a series of 12-foot rolling gates on wheels. That way, the fire crews can access my place quickly and easily and post up with any size equipment they need.”

“Wow!” I said.

“Yeah,” said Joe, “when I told my CDF buddy that, he said he would pin a medal on me!”

The stories and Fire Tips from you readers keep on coming. Keep it up!

Meanwhile, we have a Town to build. Remember Paul in the Care Center, who says, ‘Paradise is a beautiful town and will never die’.

He guarantees it.

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October 9, 2020

Tip Trophy

At the conclusion of my previous article, which was about tips for fire prevention and my nagging ways about fire prevention and preparation, I ended with this: “Okay, no more nagging for now. But any more tips?”

Wow, I received a lot of tips from you readers out there. I perceive that you are on edge just as I am, about the present and future dangers of Fire Season.

We share sufferings of PTSD in varying forms and varying degrees of severity, having been through the worst fire disaster in California history, the notorious Camp Fire of November 8, 2018; the destruction of Paradise and the burn-through of surrounding areas, including my home territory, Butte Creek Canyon.

You have sent me dozens of personal stories of your Camp Fire experiences. We have seen and heard many impactful, heartbreaking, disastrous Camp Fire stories. But when your stories and experiences are sent directly from you to me, in a personal way, they are even more impactful and heartbreaking. Disastrous is an understatement.

Through all the grief and tragedy, we must try as hard as we can to prevent a repeat of the Camp Fire, or anything like it.

That’s why I keep nagging about fire preparation and prevention and asking for more tips. Receiving your responses to my request is inspiring.

For example, my inspiring new friend R.W., a Camp Fire survivor, sent me a hand-written letter on yellow lined notepaper with a clipping of an excerpt from my previous article pasted to it. She also stapled to the letter a 3×5 index file card. An old-school creation, but, pay attention, it delivers good advice for us all.

R.W. wrote: “Yes, fire prevention nagging is still on the agenda. You asked for a few more tips. In June 2018, I assembled a “Go Bag”. I also put together an index file card set-up for the last-minute items needed from each room, in the event of a quick evacuation.”

In the margin of the letter she put an asterisk and the words “see example”. The example is the 3×5 index card. At the top of the card, it says “Location: Mud Room”. Below, it says “List of Items:” and line by line below that, it says, “flashlights with batteries; dog’s meds and vet vaccination papers; dog’s leash, bowl, blanket, food (dog’s Go Bag); boots, gloves, jacket.”

R.W. continued: “When the Nov. 8, 2018 Camp Fire was raging down our canyon, I referenced the index cards for quick packing (this was done with a clear/concise mind vs. the adrenaline- fueled mind!!). I only took what was on the cards and packed in under 15 minutes.”

She continues: “The Camp Fire took our neighbor’s house and barn. We spend a lot of time clearing firebreaks and creating defensible space. It is our responsibility and I appreciate your informative column on being Fire Safe.”

On the back of the letter R.W. wrote: “Another tip: A neighbor rolled a wet beach towel and placed it inside his front door to prevent draft and embers from entering.”

She added: “P.S. We left our house 15 minutes before the Camp Fire hit. We know a First Responder saved our house and we are forever grateful! (smiley face)”

People, I’m reloading my dusty index file card box with R.W.’s tips. No relying on a computer file. By the time you evacuate, the power and internet are off, and a computer file is worthless.

Thank you, R.W. The first Fire Tip trophy goes to you!

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October 6, 2020

Password, Please

We were on a Zoom call and somebody said, “Why am I ‘required’ to change passwords all the time? I’m sick of it. I can’t keep track of all my stupid passwords because I’m always changing them! I change passwords like I change my socks!”

The Computer Tech guy was on the call and he said, “You protect yourself by locking your house don’t you? You lock your car don’t you? You protect your online house by locking the doors with new passwords.”

It brought to mind a recent crime against one of our Real Estate clients. The crime went down this way:

Jason Anderson hit “Send” on his laptop screen, instantly delivering $37,429.87 from his bank account, by electronic wire fund transfer, to the Title Company handling his escrow for the purchase of his first home. The money is Jason’s down payment and closing costs.

On the receiving end, it’s not the Title Company at all who is receiving the wire transfer of Jason’s money. Rather, it is some faceless fraudster creep who undoubtedly rubs his hands together in glee. He has successfully coerced another sucker into sending him great sums of money. The faceless fraudster hits a few buttons on his keyboard, and Jason’s money is moved to another account and then another account, fake names and numbers are attached, and it can’t be traced or found by anyone other than the faceless fraudster creep.

Jason calls his Realtor, Pam.

“Hey Pam,” says Jason, “I guess we’re getting ready to close escrow. At last, the house will be mine!”

“Yes!” says Pam. “Finally! Loan Approval!”

Jason’s loan approval was a tough one. As a self-employed contractor, he didn’t fit in all the loan boxes of the ideal buyer, so he had to come up with more down payment money, including $15,000 from his Grandparents.

“So when do we close?” asked Jason, “I just wired my closing money to the Title Company.”

“Wait. What? We’re not closing for a week!” said Pam.

“The Title Company sent me an email that gave me the wiring instructions. They said they needed it by ten o’clock. So I wired the closing funds from my bank account. Right?”

But those wiring instructions came from the faceless fraudster, who had hacked his way into Jason’s email account.

The fraudster employs the devious technique of hacking email passwords, then scanning inboxes for money-related emails. He finds emails about a transaction underway then waits for the right time to order his victim to cough up the money. He sends a spoof email that looks just like it came from the victim’s Title Company, Realtor, attorney, lender, bank, you name it.

There are lots of fraudsters. They have sucked up lots of money from victims like Jason.

Katie Johnson, General Counsel for the National Association of Realtors says wire fraud is the number one “legal friction point” for Realtors. “Millions of dollars are lost this way,” she said. “Once they send it, the money is gone.” She laid out the rules for protecting against the fraudsters.

Never send money without verifying with a phone call.
Change your email password every two weeks.

Jason lucked out. His fraudster messed up his own wiring instructions and had to physically go to the bank to straighten it out. The Title Company fraud investigators busted him.

Jason bought his house, and the fraudster is now a faceless fraudster creep in jail. But there are many more fraudsters scanning email inboxes right now, for all kinds of stuff, not just Real Estate.

Change your password, whether or not you change your socks. Right now!

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October 1, 2020

Reverse 2020

“I’m tired,” said my old friend Carlene. “I just want to stay in this house and die here.”

Carlene and I had been driving around town checking out apartments for her to rent. She couldn’t afford the loan payment on her house anymore and she had decided to sell to acquire funds to live on.

“Let’s have a drink,” she said, as she collapsed into her easy chair and fired up a cigarette. It had been a rough afternoon. Carlene was arthritic and weak.

“I’d rather be back on the ranch digging ditches and skinning rabbits than dragging my old carcass around town with the likes of you,” she said.

“Thanks a lot,” I said.

“Ha! I’m just gettin’ your goat, kid,” she said. She cackled and blew smoke.

“And don’t worry, I am gonna list my house with you. You don’t have to kill me first.”

She hurled a folded-up newspaper at me. “What do you think about this?”

An advertisement was circled: “Reverse Mortgage. Over 62 years old? Let your home’s equity pay you income! Stay in your home with no payments! Free consultation!”

This was back in the early 1990’s, and I had never heard of a Reverse Mortgage.

“Sounds fishy,” I said.

“I called the 800 number,” she said, “and some loan guy is coming here tomorrow. You want to be here?” In other words, she expected me to be there.

The loan guy drove 90 miles to meet Carlene. He laid out the Reverse Mortgage plan, and it seemed too good to be true, so I called a local loan person I knew.

“It’s a new product,” she said. “We don’t have it here yet, but my understanding is that it’s a Government-backed loan, and perfect for older people who want to stay in their home. It’s a cash flow tool, drawn from the equity in their home.”

Carlene signed up for that Reverse Mortgage and it fit her situation like a glove. About a month later, no more house payments for Carlene. In fact, she now received a check every month.

“Pour us a drink and let’s celebrate,” said Carlene. She fired up a cigarette. “Well sir, I know you’re sad you have to wait till I die to list my house now.”

“What? No….!”

“Ha! Got your goat again, kid!”

Fast forward to 2020, and we now find the Reverse Mortgage has evolved into the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage, or HECM, pronounced in the slang version as “Heccum.”

People over 62 can now use the HECM loan for buying a home, not just staying in their home, like Carlene did.

I stopped by the office of my Loan Officer friend, the one I call Big Jim, and asked him, “Do you have a good example of a recent beneficiary of the Heccum loan?”

“Many,” said Big Jim. “But my client, and now friend, Kay, calls me regularly saying she still can’t believe she was able to buy a bigger home than she could have with a conventional loan, and she has no house payments!”

“No payments,” I said. “It seems too good to be true.”

“Exactly,” said Jim, “it’s one thing the Government got right.”

I have a great brochure on the HECM, thanks to Big Jim. If you would like me to send it to you, just call text or email me, with the question, “What the heck is a HECM?”

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