JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A Jacksonville, Fla., couple has plans to provide affordable mobile homes for Brantley County residents who lost everything in the Hwy. 82 fire.
Michael Fader and his wife, Amanda, are real estate investors and licensed mobile home dealers in Jacksonville. They were taken aback by news reports and video of the devastation in Brantley County.
“My lovely bride, Amanda, came up with this on the fly,” said Michael. “She said, ‘Honey, we can help and we can help now.’ So we jumped into action and almost immediately devised a plane.”
The Faders’ plan includes providing double-wide mobile homes to the families who’ve lost their home in the wildfires, but at an affordable rate.
The Faders are wanting to cut $90,000 brand new mobile homes to less than $50,000. All of the homes are going to be finished very similarly with chair railing islands, backsplashes and stainless steel appliances.
One family, an 87-year-old mother, and her son have already met the Faders. Patty Ryle and Edward Ryle had lived in her Gatewood Drive home in since 1978. It’s now just ash and rubble.
“It’s like a dream,” said Mrs. Ryle. “It’s really not even a reality. Yet, I know it’s gone. I know material things can be replaced, but there’s so many memories that I just have to hold in my heart.”
“I could hear he (Edward Ryle) was sincere in his voice the moment he told me he was living with his mother,” said Michael. “I have a soft spot for ‘memaws’. Then we jumped into action.”
“These people (Faders) here have been a Godsend,” said Edward Ryle.
