Condo Foreclosures About To KO Entire Miami Building; Remaining Residents Face The Boot As Trash, Water, Electric Bills Remain Unpaid

In Miami, Florida, WTVJ-TV Channel 6 reports:

• Some residents of a Miami condominium building might be displaced due to numerous code violations and unsanitary conditions, including a mountain of trash. Residents of a condominium complex at Northwest 16th Avenue and 15th Street said their trash has not been collected in four or five months. The result is a pile of garbage that is about one story tall.

• The trash is not the building's only problem. Residents said the management company and the homeowners' association have not paid the electric, water or trash bills, NBC 6's Tom Llamas reported.

For more, see Building With Trash Heap, No Power Could Be Evacuated (Residents: Management Company Didn't Pay Bills).

See also, WPLG-TV Channel 10: Fate Of Residents Of Miami Condo Still Uncertain:

• The few remaining tenants and owners at a Miami condominium may be paying a high price for the foreclosure crisis sweeping across South Florida. The seven-story building at 1531 NW 16th Ave. has 51 units, but only 17 are occupied. The loss of owners to foreclosures means a loss of maintenance fees being paid for the upkeep of common areas.

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• The few remaining residents said break-ins in the building have been rampant. Thieves have targeted the foreclosed units. Even the metal casings on the laundry machines were taken, likely to be sold for scrap metal. The city provided a fire watch service at the building free of charge overnight because the alarm system is not working.

• The company that handles the waste removal, Choice Environmental, was called out to remove the garbage. Miami fire-rescue Lt. Ignatius Carroll told Local 10 that under city code, if a company has a Dumpster at a property, the company must continue to pick up the garbage even if the bills are not paid. City building officials are still in the process of deciding if residents will be allowed to stay. The top priorities are getting the fire alarm working and removing the trash.

For story update, see Families Leave Neglected And Foreclosed Building (Complex Foreclosure And Lack Of Maintenance Forces Tenants To Leave Because Of Code Violations).

Go here, Go here, Go here, and Go here for other posts on vacant foreclosures leaving their mark on neighborhoods. ForeclosuresDestroyNeighborhoodsApple