Renter gets to plan rebuild of her home
As Paradise rebuilds from the devastating 2018 Camp Fire, it is not unusual to see people returning to rebuild their homes right where it stood prior to the fire.
According to the town of Paradise, 362 homes have been rebuilt where the certificate of occupancy has been issued — that means residents are ready to move in.
There is one that is being rebuilt that is quite unique.
Merrilee Alperin, who escaped from the fire on the back of a motorcycle driven by her husband as he rode away, was able to take one last picture of the home that she thought she would return to.
“We got out through the bike trail and I took one last picture,” she said. “I am thinking that I’ll be back, I’ll be back.”
Unfor tunately, the house was lost in the fire, but she was determined to move home no matter what.
“We lived up here before the fire, this is home,” she said. “I always knew I was gonna back. Everyone was moving away, but I was like, ‘ No.’ My husband and I always agreed that this is home.”
She was renting the home that she lived in Greg Bolin, who is also the town mayor.
Alperin called Bolin to see if he was going to rebuild her home.
“From the very beginning, Merrilee was like, ‘Are you going to buildmy home back? Imean right after the fire,” Bolinsaid. “I askedher do youwant to go back? She said that’s my home.”
She said that she didn’t giveBolinmuch of a choice, which he didn’t dispute.
“She was pretty determined right from the start,” he said, adding Alperin has been in close contact with them all along, as if it were her home. “Which it kinda is, because I am building it for her.”
That’s what makes this rebuild different. Bolin asked her if she wanted to be part of the the entire building process.
It’s an opportunity that most renters will never have: To be able toplanhow your rental home is constructed. And she jumped on the opportunity to rebuild her home.
“I never thought we were going to be part of the rebuilding the rental,” she said. “So when he offered that, we were blessed to be a part of it, I appreciate him involving us. It was crazy.”
The prospect of a renter planning what the home will be isn’t something that occurs a lot in construction.
“It is rare, very rare,” Bolin said. “The fun part is
I’ve asked her to be part of the process of picking out the colors and stuff. She’s done a great at that. I told her not to get crazy on me — andshe hasn’t. She’s been great. She’s done an excellent job.”
He said that her involvement has made the rebuild easier on him.
“It’s also made it again, something more of her choice,” he said. “And more of her home.”
Basically the same floor plan from as before, except that now she has a walk-in closet that she didn’t have before.
The concrete was poured recently and now the work is set to be finished by the end of this month.
“I imagined coming back to this place; this is home; this where I findmy peace,” she said. “Even my granddaughter, she’s 5 and is asking is my melted room almost done? She calls it the melted house.”
Both Bolin and Alperin say that there is a rent to buy opportunity for her.