People found living in condemned Orange County condo complex

Article and Video Courtesy of WFTV Channel 9 Orlando

By Michael Lopardi

Published August 4, 2015

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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.

   
“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.

  

“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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