Long term West Berkeley residents Stefan Welt and Carol Elderbaum have thrown in the towel after years of fruitlessly seeking help from the City to displace the out of town RV campers who took up residence in front of their former home shortly after Mayor Jesse Arreguin was elected in 2016.
“Arreguin opened the gates of hell for homeowners,” says Welt. “Our quiet street became a gantlet of snarling pit bulls and tweakers with expired tags from outside of California.”
“Our compassion is spent,” added Elderbaum. “Our ‘homeless neighbors’ have won. We are getting an RV and selling an NFT.”
Couple plans to move to Revenge Vehicle (RV) in front of Councilmember’s home
Capitalizing on the high demand for Berkeley property, the couple sold their home for a substantial gain, triggering the increased Transfer Tax imposed by Measure P in 2018.
“its a large, five figure sum,” notes Welt. “So we determined to get that money back by any means necessary. A non fungible token, or NFT, is the perfect vehicle to cash in on our homeowner nightmare.”
The couple purchased a decrepit, 30 foot “Revenge Vehicle” (RV), which they plan to park in front of CM Sophie Hahn’s home in North Berkeley. “Hahn coined the phrase ‘homeless neighbors’ and asked her colleagues to develop a brochure advertising the ‘amenities’ available to them” says Elderbaum. “We look forward to being her neighbor for a couple of years until we parlay our capital gains from the house sale into a new property in an area where taxes are low and streets are well maintained.”
NFT sale will recuperate money lost to Transfer Tax
“We’re going to put the RV up on blocks and divert the sewage to Hahn’s driveway. We’ve got a solar powered, flashing neon sign that says ‘thanks for your compassion’ ready to go as well. “ says Elderbaum with a broad grin.
The couple will earn back the money lost to the transfer tax through the sale of a non fungible token (NFT) for a photo of Hahn by the RV.
“As her neighbors, Sophie is welcome to come by if she needs to borrow a cup of flour. I hear she makes a heck of a brioche.”