A word of thanks! (and encouragement :) )

[Bill Maxwell]

I just wanted to take a moment to thank everyone and state how important and beneficial this process is for me and my family.

It's this groupthink, I humbly believe, that helps gets things done by quickly evaluating strategies, eliminating the bad ones and promoting the good ones.

In the very short time that I put it out to you folks, I've had Oakridge taken off the table (they're already well organized w/ a plan on the table. thank you Don for the info!), had a caretakers website pointed out to me (thank you Debbie!) and had a beautifully brutal assessment (that is meant as a high compliment, Bruce!) that the EROEI had better be very high for people to invest in a community-supported project, given the obnoxiously inflated prices in L.A.

So, again, thank you, everyone!

Here's the update on thoughts:

• The few people I've spoken to so far have offered up temporary places to stay so if my family has to 'couch surf' ;) for a while, we should be able to.  We'll evaluate the offers as we get into the middle of this whole moving process :)P
• Just by fumbling around, it looks like Chatsworth properties that we could use do run about $300K.

1. Preferences at the moment are: 3br+2bth, decent kitchen space (for more of a community feeling), decent yard (for permaculture / chicken coop -- yes, Bruce, you are inspiring).
2. "Unique" properties -- i.e. older / odd -- have been what we've lived in for forever, so a definite plus.
3. This just covers what Nik & I have tentatively spitballed. We'll be talking it over in the next couple of days to map out a more broad net, but I figured it's good to get the energy out there now.

• I know somebody used to have a connection to community financers / a community bank or something in that vein (experimental-ish). I'll look for it in my e-mail when I have a minute but if someone finds it faster for me, I'd certainly appreciate it!
• Hairbrained Scheme #2! (To replace Oakridge) -- I wonder (Don :) ) what they are doing with Chatsworth Park North.  Would they conceive of letting a family live on the property, with the intention of spearheading a remediation project that would cost the city $0?

1. As I understand it, lead in the hillside is an issue. So, a partnership with CSUN or UCLA for grants (Nik & I have written grants)
2. A partnership with Paul Stamets (who I've contacted before)
3. A partnership with the Valley Green Team (to contact bio-remediation companies who want to show off)
4. And if they don't have a house on site -- which I doubt -- how about we deal with Tree People to get a couple of yurts down there :)

I am nothing if not crazy. :)

Hey, thanks again ( you'll probably hear that gratitude a lot over the next month!)

Hope to hear some more from you folks soon.

Oh... and, of course, if anyone has any packing boxes they want to get rid of :)

Best

Bill Maxwell

[Jonathan Beggs]

Hi Bill, A few years ago a friend of mine, Mimi, who had been a real estate agent,  was on friendly terms with the owner of a small mortgage company. The mortgage company had evicted one of their clients for non-payment on a large house in Northridge. The owner of the mortgage company wanted the property occupied and maintained until the title was cleared for resale. Mimi, her husband and two children lived there rent free for about a year. I expect there are quite a few situations like this if you know any mortgage company executives, or any real estate agents who know one.. Because of his friendship with Mimi, the mo.co. owner trusted that they would move out without a legal hassle when asked, which they did.

Jon