Article
and Video Courtesy of WFTV Channel 9 Orlando
By Michael
Lopardi
Published
August 4, 2015
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Watch
VIDEO
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ORANGE COUNTY -- Some people were found
living in a condemned Orange County condo complex despite being told
they had until Thursday to move out.
Most units at the troubled Tymber Skan Condos were boarded up and
condemned. The homeowners association president, Lorenzo Pinkston, said
he’ll likely have to go door to door to make sure people who shouldn’t
be there are gone.
It’s unclear how many squatters are
on the property, but Channel 9 was told that 23 units have
valid leases and those residents can stay for now.
“There's also a lot of good families that live here and
they're trying to put us out on the streets and it's not
really right,” an unidentified resident said.
Managers told squatters they had to leave by Thursday
because many apartments are unsafe and they want to make big
changes. |
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“Restore it. Redevelop it. And make it a nice
subdivision for people to live,” Pinkston said.
Pinkston said he’ll meet with the sheriff’s office next week to develop
a plan to remove any remaining squatters.
The county said there are plans
pending to demolish three buildings soon and another eight
by next year. Pinkston said a complete makeover would take
three to four years.
“This place has been like this for about 10 years, maybe a
little bit more. This is not something that can happen
overnight. It has to be done in stages,” Pinkston said.
Managers said they’ll meet with renters soon to inspect
their units and determine if they can stay. |
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“Every single day I have to worry about (losing my
home) and I pray that they do not do this to us because, like I said,
there are decent people in here,” a resident said.
Pinkston’s next goal is to secure the front gate in hopes of reducing
crime, but he had to file court papers because the complex has multiple
homeowners associations and one of them is opposing the move.
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