December 23, 2015   12:43 AM

BATTLE CREEK, Mich. (NEWSCHANNEL 3) – A disabled veteran is getting a home for the holidays, thanks to some help from the Calhoun County community.

Levi Jenkins went through a nightmare, finding out the man he bought a Battle Creek house from didn’t have the right to sell the house.

Now, two years later, the Calhoun County Land Bank is making his dream of owning the home come true.

“I can remember age 8, 9, waiting on Santa Claus. I went through that last evening at 72. I couldn’t sleep,” Jenkins said.

Jenkins had reason to be excited. This morning, he bought this house in Battle Creek for just a dollar.

Jenkins and his wife had been living in Illinois, but decided to move back to Battle Creek a couple of  years ago to be closer to their children.

They found a house, which they planned to buy on land contract.

“I knew it wasn’t really what I wanted, but it’s what I could afford and renovate it,” Jenkins said.

So, he signed a deal to buy the property.

“We found out the guy was merely ripping me off. I had paid the down payment, I had paid him four months after that and it was bogus,” Jenkins said.

The county land bank purchased it, and with the help of legal services, it was able to work out a deal.

“Mr. Jenkins is a disabled veteran, a retired police officer and detective. We can think of no one better to receive the donation of a home than someone who served our country and community so diligently,” said Calhoun County Treasurer Christine Schauer.

And Jenkins has big plans for the property.

“A beautiful picket fence around the front, a front porch,” he said. “Nothing I can’t repair; I’ve done it for years.”

Jenkins says he  may have lost his money, but thanks to the generosity of others, he still came out a winner.

“I got a house,” he said.

The county says deals like this are a win-win. Their goal is to keep people in their homes, and maintain property values in the community.

Source: Channel 3 News WWMT