PEMBROKE PINES - With condominiums crumbling from the inside out, residents in Pembroke Pines said they are fearful if being kicked out due to the unsafe conditions.
|
|
“The rent continues to
go up and repairs don’t ever get made,” said the mother, who
wanted to remain anonymous.
Her neighbor, who also fears retaliation, agrees.
“This is unsafe; I have kids here,” the neighbor said. “My
kids like to sit on the balcony and get some fresh air.
Imagine if something happened on our balcony, and it fell
through to the bottom floor. We’d all be talking a different
story.”
Nearly every unit has damage.
Balconies are held up with jacks. So are other areas where
the wood is rotting away.
Many condos have cracks or large holes.
It was enough for the property manager to send an email
Thursday night, which reads as follows, “Dear residents,
effective immediately, no one can go on the balcony for
safety reasons until further notice.”
But residents may soon not even be allowed inside their
homes, because Pembroke Pines officials said, “Property
management for Heron Pond has been given 48 hours to provide
a certified engineering report that supports allowing
residents to remain in their occupancies until repairs are
completed.”
Finding a firm to sign off on this might be difficult.
7News stopped by the office to see whether they had any
advice for residents, but no one answered the door.
Meanwhile, remains remain worried.
“Honestly looking around, it doesn’t look like it’s
salvageable,” the mother said.
Residents are concerned that in less than 48 hours, they may
not have access to their homes.
“I don’t really feel confident in what’s going to happen,
because we don’t have money to just up and leave,” a
resident said.
The 48-hour notices expires sometime Saturday evening.