Camp Fire survivors face pricey alternatives

Appeal-Democrat (Marysville, CA)

May 11-- May 11--A shortage of housing and rising costs -- nothing new in California. But for Camp Fire evacuees, sky-high costs add to an already-heavy recovery burden.

Cheryl Elder Renwick's home is still standing; the gargantuan fire that ripped through Paradise, Magalia and Concow Nov. 8, 2018, burned right up to her property line (thanks to pre-fire brush clearance), but heat damage still made her home uninhabitable.

The fire burned just the corner of her house, but heat damage means the roof needs replacing, the house is cracking, and wood framing is falling apart. That's on top of the fact that the water line and meter was burned and water is contaminated.

She and her husband don't plan on moving back; they hope to sell their home off Pentz Road once it is cleaned, repaired and the already-in-progress remodel finished. But getting into new housing, while trying to repair their Paradise home, has been frustrating and expensive.

One rental Renwick found near River Valley High School, around 2,500 square feet and partially furnished, was going for $6,000 per month. Renwick talked the landlord down to $4,000 per month. Another rental she found on Craigslist was more reasonable: $1,800 per month. But because they were interested in month-to-month and not a one-year lease, the landlord bumped up the price to $4,000 per month with a $5,000 deposit.

And while Renwick and their pets stay on her daughter's couch in Yuba City, her husband is staying at a Yuba City hotel for $6,500 per month.

"I'm disappointed," Renwick said Friday. "I understand a housing shortage, but landlords aren't accommodating ... for the two houses we found, it was extremely outrageous."

She's not the only one. Angela Sandhu, a real estate agent for Re/Max in Yuba City, has met a number of Camp Fire evacuees looking for homes. One man is paying $4,800 per month for a 1,600 square-foot house in Yuba City; another couple in Yuba City is paying $2,350 per month.

Where do they cross the line between price gouging and supply and demand? According to the state Department of Justice, price gouging refers to sellers trying to take unfair advantage of consumers during an emergency or disaster by greatly increasing prices for essential consumer goods and services. State penal codes prohibit raise the price of goods and services by more than 10 percent after an emergency has been declared.

Sandhu said she feels extremely bad for evacuees, who, since losing an entire town, have had to stay in RVs, Walmart parking lots or their cars.

"They were desperate. Once the insurance companies started paying out many weren't sure if they should buy a house again or just rent," Sandhu wrote in an email Friday. "Rents suddenly went up along with home prices. Everything was bought up or rented in surrounding areas, Chico, Oroville, Biggs, Gridley, Live Oak and started moving our way."

A potential buyer from Paradise was outbid five times in Chico, she said. And with the last offer he put in, he was out-bid $80,000 over the asking price. Renwick has the same experience and she and her husband tried to buy two homes after relocating to Yuba-Sutter. Both times, they were outbid by all-cash offers.

"There's so much competition, (landlords) can be super picky," Renwick said.

She did praise state Sen. Jim Nielsen and Assemblyman James Gallagher's efforts to help the recovery process. In February, Gallagher (R-Yuba City) introduced Assembly Bill 430, which would streamline the environmental review process for certain housing projects. He also spearheaded a request that Gov. Gavin Newsom utilize $5 million of the state's budget for Camp Fire evacuees. On Thursday, the governor's revised budget proposal included $10 million to mitigate Camp Fire impacts. Gallagher's requests have included funding for clean water, school districts and resources for Chico and Oroville that have absorbed a large population of evacuees.

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