On September 28th, 2022, Hurricane Ian confiscated half of our mobile home. We watched, spellbound, as that monster tore away a huge chunk of our living space.
Mercifully, our bed was under a portion of intact roof, so we could sleep dry. However, the ceiling had collapsed over the part of our home we designated as an office, and every time it rained, the tile floor morphed into a pond, so we often needed boots to walk around.
We tolerated this scourge for five months, until our daughter, Caroline, an international runway model and Yoga studio owner based in LA, called us with good news.
She said she’d been approved for a mortgage and wanted to buy us a new home, wherever we wanted.
We thought it was a good opportunity to be closer to our other two daughters in Washington D.C., and Richmond, Virginia, but we also wanted to stay in Florida. Ultimately, we decided to venture six hours northeast toward Jacksonville.
We moved into “The Palace”
Caroline found a home for $325,000 in a lovely neighborhood with a community pool, weight room, and bike paths.
We called it “The Palace” because it was so roomy and beautiful. The cherry on top was when Caroline called us and said, “Oh, and by the way, I’m having the sellers put on a brand new roof.”
In early 2023, we sold our mobile home and immediately loaded up our moving truck and made our way to the house Caroline had bought for us.
During the first rainstorm in our new home, I couldn’t help but think of how we’d gone from frenetically grabbing buckets when thunderstorms threatened our old roof, to enjoying the peaceful pitter-patter of raindrops on our new one.
We didn’t stay long
We felt adventurous, traveling from southwest to northeast Florida.
We attended a Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp minor league baseball game, where I rescued an errant baseball. We took a day trip to the Jacksonville Zoo, laughing out loud at the Chimpanzees’ acrobatic antics.
It wasn’t all fun and games. We struggled to adapt to Jacksonville’s chilly winter. We were also surprised that the new people we met were taciturn at best.
Anyone in our old neighborhood could be counted on for an impromptu, upbeat chat or would help you with any home maintenance in a heartbeat. We didn’t feel the same about our new neighbors.
Right after Christmas, nine months after we moved in, Caroline’s beloved cat got sick, and the vet bill was considerable. I realized she wasn’t going to be able to afford it on top of paying the mortgage for the home she’d bought us, and the rent for her apartment in Santa Monica. My mind whispered, “Uh-oh.”
The money we were able to contribute, $500 a month, was lower than her mortgage of over $2,000. She was a champion soul to give us this incredible gift, but it was taking a heavy toll on her.
We had to do something
We took money out of our small savings and contributed that. The cash was merely trying to empty the ocean with a thimble, though.
We asked her if she wanted us to help her sell the home, relieve her of that financial stranglehold. As a businesswoman and a go-getter, Caroline did not want to give up, though.
She decided to turn the house into an Airbnb, which would hopefully produce more income than what we were paying.
She flew from California, and together we all chipped in to help decorate and get the space ready for her potential guests.
Between Goodwill and Facebook Marketplace, Caroline accomplished a lot with very little cash. She found framed pictures to grace the walls, bought comfy outdoor furniture with a fire pit, and placed scented candles in every room.
We returned back down south
Meanwhile, we pursued our own mortgage for another mobile home back in southwestern Florida and moved back about 14 months after arriving in Jacksonville.
Ultimately, the money Caroline brought in for the Airbnb was not enough to cover the mortgage, but she was happy she’d tried.
We drove back up north to help her scrub, stage, and show the place, and she got a buyer within three months. She was happy to break even on her home sale.
It’s such a shame these mortgages are so killer these days. It feels as if young buyers are like kayakers trying to paddle up a waterfall.
Despite the outcome, we will never, ever forget our daughter’s caring largesse.
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