Kalorama Family Rebuild

My name is Natalie Guest and my family consists of my husband Lee and our 15yo daughter Millie, along with our 2 cocker spaniels. We lost our home in the June 2021 storms in our beautiful Dandenong Ranges and are still not home. Our local council deemed our land uninhabitable due to their antiquated planning scheme, so I have fought to change that and am waiting for that to happen any day now, so we can begin our rebuild journey on our own land. We contacted every media outlet we could, and every politician to share our story. Our insurance was smooth sailing and they were extremely obliging considering our situation. Unfortunately, the 2 years of funding we had for accomodation expired last July, so we are on our own with an accomodation bill of $1343 per week for our mortgage and rent. Our bank has been understanding but to relieve any financial burden and pause, we would then need to re-apply for our mortgage and me being a sole trader, that is an almost impossible goal. We have spoken with financial counsellors and mortgage brokers for advice.

The costs involved as well as keeping our daughter in school, food on the table and bills paid is something that is very difficult to manage. I have had many friends suggest I do this earlier; pride gets in the way as I am usually the giving individual, both personally and in my business. My business has suffered as I've been focused on fighting for our family and now times are so tough I need to get a second job as well as work 60+ hours in my business each week.

Our build will take approx 8months beginning in March and we hope to stay at the house we are at until then to avoid our 4th move, although it is up for sale which is another cause of stress.

Any funds raised will be used to pay school fees, psychology/medical bills, rent & mortgage.

Thankyou for reading,

The Guest Family