Several families at the Heron Pond Condominium in Pembroke Pines were seen rushing to leave their homes by the end of Thursday, facing a critical deadline given by the city for everyone to vacate the property due to structural safety concerns.
Many of the people NBC6 spoke to say they were renting their condos and did not have access to all of the information about what was happening in this community – and were caught off guard by the order to vacate.
"It caught everyone off guard," said Josiah Campbell, the son of a resident.
Many of the people living at Heron Pond rushed to pack up their belongings in the rain.
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"Don’t know what could happen with these buildings – they could fall apart at any moment," Campbell said.
In August of last year, people living in over half of the complexes were ordered to leave over structural safety issues, such as termite and water damage, rotted wood and balcony beams. Then this past July 24, the city ordered all units be vacated by August 29 after a new engineering report from the condo determined the entire property unsafe.
"They only come and put the paper for the door," said another renter, Maria.
NBC6 saw plenty of people packing up boxes and struggling to get their things out at the last minute. Some renters like Maria’s family said they weren’t getting information quickly, claiming it wasn’t until three weeks ago that they got a notice posted on their door telling them to be out by the 29th.
Cellphone video showed Maria's family bathroom, where a large piece of ceiling drywall suddenly collapsed.
"Terrible… really, really bad," Maria said.
For other renters like Jaz, the situation here has been frustrating.
"I moved in in June of last year and was told it was just the balconies," she said. "Two months later, I found out they were condemning the buildings."
She said she was left feeling cheated.
"I have not gotten a deposit back and I was told I was not going to get one back," she said.
The community has been managed by a court-appointed receiver since April after the association alleged in court filings the previous board intentionally mismanaged the complex, allowing it to deteriorate – something at least one prior board member has denied.
As for what becomes of these people’s homes, a survey from the receiver recently asked them to weigh in on two options: pay a lump sum $40,000 assessment for repairs, or look into selling the property.
