Maria Anderson is one of many tenants facing eviction from eight units in two apartment buildings at 2661 and 2651 Fresno Street in Capitola. The buildings were sold just over a week ago to a house flipper registered at 305 Vineyard Town Center #195 in Morgan Hill. The buyer — Charity Homes, LLC — is owned by John Francisco Paiva who, according to a 2014 press release from the San Jose Real Estate Investment Club, is a former executive with Cisco Systems and has acted as the full time president of Charity Rehabbers, LLC since 2013. Soon after the purchase cleared – and despite the previous owners' assurances that they would ask Paiva to be considerate of the residents' long tenancies – each apartment in the two buildings received 60-day eviction notices.

Charity Rehabbers' motto 'Rehabbing Homes. Improving Neighborhoods & Supporting Charities' rings hollow to Maria. “We don't need rehab, we ARE a neighborhood!” she says. Maria is a nurse at the Locust Street Family Health Center clinic and she's angry because she sees this move by Charity Homes as damaging to the community. “I immunize children in this county,” she yells, exasperated. Her neighbors too are longtime residents and perform necessary services in the area that support other residents in their day to day lives.

“Liz rolls burritos for the homeless downtown and she's lived here 20 years. Robin is three years from retirement, working in county mental health services, but won't be able to retire yet because of what a new place would cost.”

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