It sounds like a dream-come-true: having a huge 32-story condo building in Fort Myers, Fla., all to yourself. But for one man and his family, that situation has turned into a real-life nightmare.
In November, Victor Vangelakos, 45, closed on a condominium for $430,000 in the Oasis I building, according to The News-Press.
But eerily, Vangelakos was the only buyer in the building. With the real estate collapse that began in 2006, potential buyers reportedly steered clear or transferred down payments to units in Tower II next door.
Vangelakos, a firefighter from Weehawken, N.J., uses it as a vacation residence with his wife and three children. But, the vacation getaway only has lights on in his floor, and the pool is not heated. Also, birds have built nests in the lighting fixtures on the open walkways on each floor, The News-Press reports.
Now, Vangelakos is suing the developer Related Group to get out of his contract — but the developer's vice president, Betsy Lu McCoy, says Vangelakos is not entitled because he already closed on the property, News-Press reports.
Vangelakos' attorney has accused the Related Group for stalling tactics — while Related says the company has offered him a swap for a condo in Tower II.
The Related Group says the situation is complicated.
“We did not foresee, nor did anyone else foresee, the collapse of the real estate business and the concurrent collapse of the lending industry,” said McCoy. “They’re caught and we’re caught.”
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