Hi friends and family,

As you probably know, on March 21, 2023, I was home when a terrifying windstorm caused a redwood tree to fall on our home. In addition to the massive damage to the structure of our home, we also sustained water damage as the storm raged on. It rained directly into our house for 5 hours and our home is unlivable.

We are in the 16th month of our battle with Allstate. In the 14th month of our claim, they finally agreed to our builder’s estimate and work began immediately. Our project completion date is at the end of December, and the thought of spending Christmas at home is so exciting.

Due to the delays Allstate has created, we have run out of rent $ provided by our policy. The rent provision is supposed to last 12 months, but by living in our travel trailer for a while and then moving to a tiny cottage, we’ve made that money stretch to cover 16 months. This was also possible through the kindness of our landlords who have decreased our rent to help us.

In August, we will be responsible for 2 months’ rent + our mortgage because Allstate requested their refundable deposit back which is equal to one month's rent. From September - December we will pay monthly rent + our mortgage. This is impossible, financially.

We explored the option of forbearance on our mortgage, pausing our payments while we pay rent out of pocket. However, there are severe financial consequences to this:

1) Our credit will be damaged, 2) we will be faced with a balloon payment of 5 months of mortgage payments when we begin paying again in the 6th month, and 3) we will have to restructure our mortgage to a 40-year mortgage to absorb the balloon payment.

Over the past 16 months, many people have expressed their desire to help us somehow. Ryan's workplace raised $ that allowed us to hire a firm to advocate on our behalf. So grateful. Folks have offered to travel here to help us clean up debris or to install flooring ourselves to save money, but it’s just not practical when we don’t have anywhere for people to stay. So, now that we find ourselves in this crushing financial situation, we thought we’d ask for your help with this particular need. The goal amount I’ve set will cover our rent through December so we can continue to pay our mortgage.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. Thank you in advance for helping us in any way you’d like—whether that’s by donating here or by sharing this (that’s super helpful, too!), and/or through your words of encouragement through this very difficult season.

Gratefully,

Heidi and Ryan Flemons

Here are some photos of the journey so far:

Some of the damage and tree carnage.

Raining inside the house, glass everywhere, and fallen beams. What a mess!

Ryan's company, Neotract, paid for us to stay in a Residence Inn for the first week after we evacuated. Such a blessing because they take pets! His coworkers sent toys and treats for Mabel, Happy, and Squish.

Our 240 sq ft mansion on wheels for the first couple of months we were displaced. So grateful to have this option while we searched for temporary housing in our town.

Our cozy little cottage. Our landlords who have become dear friends lowered the rent to help us and welcomed all 3 of our pets. We are so glad to be here until we can return home.

Our friends who live the van life, Scott and Melissa, stayed on our property for a month and helped us with outside projects while we waited for Allstate to approve our builder's repair estimate. This was about a year into our claim.

In the 14th month, Allstate agreed to our builder's estimate and demo began!! Now THAT'S California indoor/outdoor living! ;)

Today, the broken ceiling planks and beams have been replaced. There's a lot left to be done but it's encouraging to see progress!