A devastating fire left a Pleasantville family of six starting over with nothing.
But “we don’t know where to begin,” said Amanda Naylor.
Naylor, her husband and four children lost their Linden Avenue home Oct. 24.
They were lucky not to lose more.
Her husband, Jose Morales, and their 5-year-old son were home at the time of the blaze. To escape, Morales had to throw Bubba from the second floor to a stranger below. He then jumped after him.
Morales jumped just in time. A moment later, “the whole front part came up in flames,” recalled Bonita Edwards, whose fiance caught Bubba. (Click here to read full story)While he’s doing well, Morales will still be out of work at least four more weeks as a knee injury heals. In the meantime, the family has to decide what to do. Insurance will pay only the remaining $60,000 owed on the home. Morales has been trying to get prices from contractors. But just to tear down the old home could cost $10,000 to $15,000, Naylor said. And, with the cold weather coming, construction would be impacted anyway. If they don’t have enough to rebuild, the money can go to the bank so the property can become theirs to sell. They could get a new place, but the family of six needs at least three bedrooms, which is expensive, especially with only Naylor fully employed right now. Her full-time job at Babies R Us is just seasonal. After the new year, it she’ll go back to part-time. The family has missed two mortgage payments and is still paying off ACL surgery Morales had a couple of years ago. They found out from the city that they can have a trailer on the land for as long as a year. That may be the best option right now, Naylor said. Even if they can’t rebuild the home, they could take the year to rebuild their credit and get a loan for a new place. “We’re hoping we can rebuild,” Naylor said. “We just don’t know what’s next.” A GoFundMe page has been set up for the family: https://www.gofundme.com/4oydvbc
