Warriors fan may lose West Oakland home painted in team colors
OAKLAND, Calif. - Lloyd Canamore’s connection to his home on 35th Street in West Oakland runs a half a century deep, and so does his connection to the Golden State Warriors.
The home is painted in the team’s blue and gold colors and are flanked by team flags.
“When I was in tenth grade I worked at the Coliseum (and) I was selling hot dogs and peanuts there,” Canamore says, recalling when he became a fan of the team.
The seed planted many years ago as a child grew into an outsized fandom to express over every inch of his home.
It’s even caught the attention of tourists who come by the house to take pictures of it.
“I feel like a movie star," says Canamore. "Every day they come by. I feel like Kevin Hart sometimes.”
But, Canamore may lose his home to the bank. If he does,it will be the second major loss he's suffered in less than a year.
The 58-year-old tells KTVU that before his disabled mother – who purchased the home 50 years ago – passed eight months ago, a caretaker misled her into taking out a reverse mortgage.
Canamore said that the bank now wants him to turn the property over to them or pay $350,000.
“They tried to bribe me. Taking some money up front so they can take the house,” he says.
Someone familiar with the local attraction launched a GoFundMe page to raise the money he needs to pay the bank. While it has gained traction, the money falls short of what’s needed.
Carroll Fife, director of the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment Action (ACCE), an Oakland-based tenants’ rights group, said reversible loans may do well for some who are well off, but they're increasingly being used to target Black or low income communities.
“It is exactly in the same place where gentrification has eaten away at the community,” Fife says. "These loans that accrue interest and fees, and folks can wake up and own thousands and thousands of dollars. And sometimes it can allow companies or other financial institutions to come and foreclose on the property."
In a part of Oakland that’s slowly changing, Cannamore is hoping help for “Dub Nation” will help preserve this shrine to the team – on the small plot of land that he’s called home for decades… for many more years to come.
“I’m going to go out swinging. I’m not going to let me take my house,” says Canamore. “I’m going to need some more help too from all the Warriors players, all the Warriors fans, help to keep this Warrior’s house here.”
Canamore has accepted the assistance of Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment Action to help save the home, if the fundraiser falls short.