Saturday, October 01, 2011

Wet Weather Dooms Cash-Crunched Condo Plagued By Unit Foreclosures; Collapsed Crappy Roof Leads To Condemnation; Two Dozen Families Booted From Homes

In Miami, Florida, WSVN-TV Channel 7 reports:
  • Firefighters condemned a condo building after the wet weather caused the roof of the structure to collapse, forcing out two dozen families. On Saturday, waters rushed into a number of units inside the Ola Condo building, near 152nd Street and Northeast Sixth Avenue. As a result, Miami-Dade firefighters condemned the building.


  • According to firefighters, the recent string of heavy rains leaked through the roof of the condo building, which made the structure unsafe to live in.


  • About 25 families now have to find another place to live. One of the forced-out residents, Ebony Walker, said, "I try to hold my composure because crying doesn't lead to nothing no more."


  • A few hours later, however, Walker's eyes were filled with tears. "Oh, my God," she cried. "Me and my kids lost everything, and they don't want to do nothing about it. This is crazy."


  • Resident Mario Govants expressed concern. He said, he does not know where he and his four daughters will stay. "I only got $120 on me right now to rent a hotel for two days. After that, I don't know what to do," he said. "If it was me, by myself, I don't care, but I got kids. They come first."


  • Firefighters said, none of the displaced families have insurance. A woman with the condo association said, there were plans to fix the building's roof, but there was not enough money to do so.


  • Also, many of the units are in foreclosure, and many residents do not pay rent.

Source: Condo building condemned; 25 families displaced.