Woman puts sale of million dollar home on hold to house fire victims

OAKLAND, Calif. (KTVU) - An Oakland woman has put the sale of her million-dollar apartment on hold to help house fire victims from northern and southern California.

Caryn Kramer, owner of Blue Wave Home Solutions, is a residential redeveloper. Her latest project is a 2 bedroom, 2 bath apartment that is fully staged.

"It was on the market for about two to three weeks and I had two offers," Kramer said.

But after the wildfires broke out in Butte County and Malibu, Kramer decided to postpone the sale and offer up the space to fire victims at no cost, furniture included. Kramer even converted some spaces into more bedrooms to accommodate larger families.

"Even if I would have sold it yesterday no one would be in it right now," Kramer posted about her offer on Facebook. The post quickly garnered hundreds of likes. A father from Calabasas and his two sons were the first to move in and live in the apartment for a week.

Then Melissa Goble, her boyfriend, and his three daughters moved into the apartment after their home burned down in Paradise, CA.

"We've been living here since the 25th, so the Sunday after Thanksgiving," Goble said.

Goble said the hardest part of losing their home has been staying in one place.

"You move into a VRBO and a couple of days later you move to the next spot, then the next spot," she said. "We are super thankful for Caryn for letting us find a place to just be able to breathe momentarily to pick up the pieces and find out what the next steps are going to be."

Goble has found a place to rent in Emeryville and will move out on Christmas Eve. Kramer will put her million-dollar apartment back on the market in January and said she's fortunate to be able to help.

"In the long run, we're housing a family... that means more," Kramer added.

Kramer said part of the proceeds from the sale of the apartment will help build housing in Haiti through her non-profit called "Flipping for Humanity."