Cambryn with his aunt Lisa (left) and Ian MacDonald (right), the Regions associate who worked diligently with Cambryn and his family to help make his dream a reality.

No Place Like Home

Posted October 6, 2011

Cambryn and his mother Cheryl pause for a photo during his house warming party where family and friends gathered together to celebrate the milestone of Cambryn becoming a home owner.

BUYING A FIRST HOME is a seminal moment for anyone. After who-knows-how-long searching for the place that feels right, going through the logistics of securing the financing, then holding your breath and taking the plunge, you finally hold the keys in your hand. The feeling is indescribable.

Words usually come quickly for Cambryn Doran of Jacksonville, Fla., but on the day he moved into his new home, they couldn't come quickly enough.

"If I even started to explain how excited I am," he says, "it would take all day."

Now 35, Cambryn suffered injuries at birth that left him battling cerebral palsy and several other developmental disabilities. He lived at home until he was 25, through years of special education, multiple surgeries to correct vision impairments, and other challenges to start working toward a sense of independence. He then transitioned into a group home at Pine Castle, a community in Jacksonville dedicated to serving the needs of people with disabilities. 

It was a positive step, but his mother, Cheryl Roberts, had a lingering concern. What kind of security did Cambryn have for the future, given that she and her husband, Steve, wouldn't always be there to look out for him?

At the time Cheryl met Steve, Cambryn was nine and she was raising him as a single mother. Steve bonded with Cambryn, and she says he's been a proud and dedicated father to him ever since. One night a couple of years ago they sat down to discuss an audacious plan Cheryl had - she wanted to help Cambryn buy his own home.

They considered one property and then another, ultimately losing each when the deals crumbled due to circumstances beyond their control. They were disheartened, and then delighted when an even better prospect fell in their laps. A next-door neighbor dropped in to mention she had just put her house on the market and had already gotten an offer, but she wasn't happy with the terms. Cheryl proposed a better offer on the spot. The neighbor accepted. Immediately, Cheryl was on the phone with their Regions loan officer, Ian MacDonald. 

Ian had gotten to know the family through the first two, ill-fated purchase attempts and really wanted to see this one go through. "I tend to build a personal connection with all of my customers, but this one was something special," Ian says. "It was amazing how things came together. While they probably could have made those other properties work with a lot of improvements, this one was already in great shape and perfect for Cambryn," he says of the three-bedroom, two-bath house with a great sunroom, deck and yard replete with a fountain and birds flocking to the bird feeders. The fact that it's right next door to his parents is almost too good to be true.

Cambryn, who is in his seventh year of a job operating the elevators at facilities for both the Jacksonville Jaguars NFL team and Jacksonville Sharks arena-football team, is an avid sports fan. This endeared him to Ian, a big sports fan himself. "When we met to go over the loan, we always got off-topic talking about the Jags," Ian laughs. "Cambryn is just a delightful person. He's always smiling, has a great sense of humor, and everybody who meets him just falls in love."

Ian also guided the family through making use of an FHA clause that facilitates loans specifically for the families of disabled persons. This meant that instead of the house being named an investment property owned by his parents, Cambryn would see his own name listed on the deed. That's why they call it Cambryn's Forever Home. "Even though Cambryn has disabilities, he has as much right to the dream of owning a home as anyone else," Cheryl says. In fact, as Cheryl's sister, Lisa, proudly told her nephew, he was the first among all of his cousins to become a homeowner.

Once they closed on the house, they outlined what adjustments would need to be made for the house to be fully handicap-accessible. But Cheryl went beyond that, taking pleasure in decorating it to make her son's house a home. On a shoestring budget, she had what she calls unbelievable luck in stumbling upon just the right furnishings, accessories, and inexpensive artwork in thrift stores around the city. "It looks like a decorator did this house!" she gushes. 

Cambryn moved in September 8, along with his two roommates – a friend and a live-in aid. He and his mother were already getting ready for a housewarming bash: dozens of friends and relatives were invited, with one announcing she would even bake a cake with a picture of Cambryn's house on it.

Ian MacDonald, whom Cambryn calls "a dream to work with," wouldn't miss the party for anything. "I'll be there with my wife and kids," he says. "I joke and tell people, I think this means almost as much to me as it does to them."

To Cambryn, that hardly seems possible. "I am absolutely on cloud nine."

IAN MACDONALD is an associate with Regions and CHERYL, STEVE, and CAMBRYN are Regions Customers.

Everyone has a story.