Kristal's Dream House Project
Help Make Kristal's Dream House a Reality!
This is a very vulnerable and difficult thing to do,
but I need your help to make my dream come true!
I’m Kristal Jensen (aka Kristal Magic), native to the Bay Area, married and widowed early in life. Having lived with Rheumatoid Arthritis since age seven, and undergoing numerous surgeries, I eventually determined I would be unable to work a full-time career. Being fortunate to invest in a fixer upper (with the help of parents), I managed to gain experience in building and renovating, while building up equity that would survive the great recession of 2008.
Times were hard after the recession, living on fixed income, and no way to refinance my home. I decided to sell my house in Burlingame, and move to Oakland where most of my friends in community live. I settled into an intentional community home known as “Church of Soul: A Center for Transformation, Celebration, and Service”. But I ultimately knew that in order to live an independent and sustainable life, and given the limitations of SSDI, I needed to invest in something that brings “non-earned income”, which led me to the decision to once again invest in Real Estate, or more specifically, Income Property.
My Dream:
To build upon the Church of Soul community, and add space for creativity, art, and housing. — Studios. A place for me to live and support businesses and individuals interested in creativity, personal growth, and alternative living. A place for pioneers for a new society… “a future we can believe in”. Not only will I be providing 3 studio apartments for me and 2 tenants, but I will also be providing an art studio space to share with others in community. My intention for the art studio is to provide space where I and others can grow their business or vocation, whether it be art, crafts, music, counseling, or coaching.
And so… in the fall of 2012, I set out to search for property I could develop to achieve my dream. Upon finding a vacant lot for sale, right across the street from Church of Soul where I lived (Whaa..??!!), I decided I would build my dream from the ground up, and therein began my long, arduous journey.
Unfortunately, I was soon met with many setbacks and obstacles. Building a home from the ground up involves many costs other than construction costs; Architectural plans, surveys, fees, installation of water, gas and sewer lines, permits, and on and on. I didn’t really know all that I was getting into, but I was determined to see my dream fulfilled. My dear mother agreed to lend me the construction loan with the agreement that I pay her back as soon as possible after the house was built. Wonderful! Now I can build!
However, other unexpected expenses have raised the initial estimated amount significantly. Twice we were robbed, once at the outset of construction, and the second time just before we got power to the house. Mostly tools were stolen, but also copper pipes, and other fixtures waiting to be installed. The total loss was about $20,000, all coming out of my pocket. I found out only too late that my insurance didn’t cover my contractor’s tools, and by the second robbery, my theft insurance, unbeknownst to me, had expired. Now there’s a hard lesson learned!
After many delays and added costs due to building code changes and other miscalculations, I am about $100,000 over budget.. But I have persevered, I was determined to see it through, and here we are, permits signed off, and me and my two tenants are living in our brand new home. This is certainly something to celebrate!!!
Which brings me to now... My body is in pain, and there is still much work needed to finish my house and completely move in. There’s still so much left to do, and I’m feeling tired, extremely achy, and over-worked.
And so, I turn to my community to help me complete this dream. My goal is to raise just a small fraction of my total debt. I hope that I can recover at least $20,000 so I can pay my mom back some of money she loaned me. I plan to get a mortgage to cover the rest of the debt. There was a moment where I thought I would have to sell the house and walk away, as the only way to recover the money to pay my debts. But after all that hard work, blood, sweat, and tears, I just have to stay and see my dream come true!
Won’t you help me realize my dream? I’m calling it Kristal Magic Studios, and I hope to live and create beauty and inspiration, here in West Oakland with my community for many years to come.
With your help, here are some of the things I hope to create at Kristal Magic Studios:
• Art Studio - sculpture, oil/acrylic painting, drawing, water color, multi-media art installations
• Arts and Crafts projects, jewelry making, etc.
• Photographer’s studio
• Gallery
• Recording Studio
• DJ Salons/Lessons
• Counseling/Coaching Space (quiet/private space for emotional processing and somatic experience and art therapy)
• Annex to Church of Soul (alternate space for use of Church of Soul community)
• Open to your dreams and ideas too!
Any amount is appreciated, whatever you can afford to donate, $5, $10, $20, $50, $75, $100, $500, $1000 or more. Every bit helps. I will thank you with various gifts I can offer.
If you find yourself unable to donate money, there are other ways you can help.
1. Donate a gift to offer other donors
2. Help with finishing touches, handyman work, painting, moving tasks, dump/recycling runs
3. Help/Volunteer at our fundraising/housewarming party (More info tba as to how you can help).
For a complete photo journal of my journey, go to: House Build Photo Album
For a video tour of the house under construction go to: Video Tour
Won’t you join me in my dream?
Many thanks and gratitude with love,
Kristal Magic
This is a very vulnerable and difficult thing to do,
but I need your help to make my dream come true!
I’m Kristal Jensen (aka Kristal Magic), native to the Bay Area, married and widowed early in life. Having lived with Rheumatoid Arthritis since age seven, and undergoing numerous surgeries, I eventually determined I would be unable to work a full-time career. Being fortunate to invest in a fixer upper (with the help of parents), I managed to gain experience in building and renovating, while building up equity that would survive the great recession of 2008.
Times were hard after the recession, living on fixed income, and no way to refinance my home. I decided to sell my house in Burlingame, and move to Oakland where most of my friends in community live. I settled into an intentional community home known as “Church of Soul: A Center for Transformation, Celebration, and Service”. But I ultimately knew that in order to live an independent and sustainable life, and given the limitations of SSDI, I needed to invest in something that brings “non-earned income”, which led me to the decision to once again invest in Real Estate, or more specifically, Income Property.
My Dream:
To build upon the Church of Soul community, and add space for creativity, art, and housing. — Studios. A place for me to live and support businesses and individuals interested in creativity, personal growth, and alternative living. A place for pioneers for a new society… “a future we can believe in”. Not only will I be providing 3 studio apartments for me and 2 tenants, but I will also be providing an art studio space to share with others in community. My intention for the art studio is to provide space where I and others can grow their business or vocation, whether it be art, crafts, music, counseling, or coaching.
And so… in the fall of 2012, I set out to search for property I could develop to achieve my dream. Upon finding a vacant lot for sale, right across the street from Church of Soul where I lived (Whaa..??!!), I decided I would build my dream from the ground up, and therein began my long, arduous journey.
Unfortunately, I was soon met with many setbacks and obstacles. Building a home from the ground up involves many costs other than construction costs; Architectural plans, surveys, fees, installation of water, gas and sewer lines, permits, and on and on. I didn’t really know all that I was getting into, but I was determined to see my dream fulfilled. My dear mother agreed to lend me the construction loan with the agreement that I pay her back as soon as possible after the house was built. Wonderful! Now I can build!
However, other unexpected expenses have raised the initial estimated amount significantly. Twice we were robbed, once at the outset of construction, and the second time just before we got power to the house. Mostly tools were stolen, but also copper pipes, and other fixtures waiting to be installed. The total loss was about $20,000, all coming out of my pocket. I found out only too late that my insurance didn’t cover my contractor’s tools, and by the second robbery, my theft insurance, unbeknownst to me, had expired. Now there’s a hard lesson learned!
After many delays and added costs due to building code changes and other miscalculations, I am about $100,000 over budget.. But I have persevered, I was determined to see it through, and here we are, permits signed off, and me and my two tenants are living in our brand new home. This is certainly something to celebrate!!!
Which brings me to now... My body is in pain, and there is still much work needed to finish my house and completely move in. There’s still so much left to do, and I’m feeling tired, extremely achy, and over-worked.
And so, I turn to my community to help me complete this dream. My goal is to raise just a small fraction of my total debt. I hope that I can recover at least $20,000 so I can pay my mom back some of money she loaned me. I plan to get a mortgage to cover the rest of the debt. There was a moment where I thought I would have to sell the house and walk away, as the only way to recover the money to pay my debts. But after all that hard work, blood, sweat, and tears, I just have to stay and see my dream come true!
Won’t you help me realize my dream? I’m calling it Kristal Magic Studios, and I hope to live and create beauty and inspiration, here in West Oakland with my community for many years to come.
With your help, here are some of the things I hope to create at Kristal Magic Studios:
• Art Studio - sculpture, oil/acrylic painting, drawing, water color, multi-media art installations
• Arts and Crafts projects, jewelry making, etc.
• Photographer’s studio
• Gallery
• Recording Studio
• DJ Salons/Lessons
• Counseling/Coaching Space (quiet/private space for emotional processing and somatic experience and art therapy)
• Annex to Church of Soul (alternate space for use of Church of Soul community)
• Open to your dreams and ideas too!
Any amount is appreciated, whatever you can afford to donate, $5, $10, $20, $50, $75, $100, $500, $1000 or more. Every bit helps. I will thank you with various gifts I can offer.
If you find yourself unable to donate money, there are other ways you can help.
1. Donate a gift to offer other donors
2. Help with finishing touches, handyman work, painting, moving tasks, dump/recycling runs
3. Help/Volunteer at our fundraising/housewarming party (More info tba as to how you can help).
For a complete photo journal of my journey, go to: House Build Photo Album
For a video tour of the house under construction go to: Video Tour
Won’t you join me in my dream?
Many thanks and gratitude with love,
Kristal Magic
Organizer
Kristal Jensen
Organizer
Oakland, CA