Update from the Liotti's


Short Update: 

• We’re still settling in, but not buried in boxes anymore

• I’m turning my attention to figuring out the disposition of our Boulder Creek home

• I’m starting to feel more normal, able to better focus on work


Longer Update: 

We’re closing in on two weeks since the chaos started. It feels more like months. Our new place in Santa Cruz is shaping up, due to Melissa’s hard work. We’re discovering more in and around Santa Cruz and the Live Oak neighborhood. We haven’t lived close to the beach since our time in Tijuana. It’s nice to be a 20-minute walk to the ocean. 


As the days begin to normalize and the adrenaline rush wears off, my emotions are mixed. On the one hand, I’m still humbled and grateful for the way our community surrounded us. I’m not sure how we would have made this work without the help. There are still waves of emotions. I have times of gratitude and peace along with ones of grief and sadness. Sometimes it’s discombobulating to be here. The change happened so quickly I didn’t have time to process the emotions.  Now, as things slow, the varying emotions are bubbling. 


I recently reached out to a housing counseling agency to begin the process of surrendering the Boulder Creek property. The situation is this: the home repair will take between $150,000 and $200,000. In addition, given the demand for contractors and engineers, we would need to rent for a couple of years. We can’t afford the rent plus the mortgage at the same time and there isn’t enough equity in the house. So, a business decision has to be made. We’ll most likely need to surrender the house to the bank. It’s strange to reach out to a HUD housing counseling agency. Able Works did years of mortgage work for low-income families during the Great Recession. It’s strange to be on the other side of that call. 


In the end, we’re good. We’re blessed. We’re safe. That’s more than most in the world can say.


#housing

#bouldercreek

#santacruz

#stormdamage

 


The "pack"

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