Housing Trend, The Whole Place to Yourself?

We wrote the other day about the growing vacancies in many of America’s cities owing to a a stumbling economy and a real estate market that is suffering from a glut of properties and no one who can afford them, but sometimes it takes an archetypal tale to truly drive the point home. Such is the case for one New Jersey family, who recently purchased a luxury condo in a 32-story tower located in Fort Myers, Florida, ironically called Oasis I. While the building may indeed be peaceful, it’s far from the fertile environment that the name suggests, considering that Victor Vangelakos, his wife Cathy and their three children are the only people that live in the entire space.

As News-Press.com explains:

Only a handful of those who put down deposits on the tower’s units actually closed on the deal. Those who did have swapped their Oasis I units for condos in Oasis II next door.

Vangelakos didn’t, because he was unable to convince his lender to agree to the swap.

Although the circumstances are certainly surreal, at the same time, they’re far from ideal. The maintenance and facilities of the building are adequate at best, but far from what the family was promised and given the abandoned appearance, it often plays host to uninvited guests.

At this point, Victor and his family only want out, but for the moment, the parties involved seemed to have reached an impasse with no one wanting to assume responsibility. As a representative for the real estate company that owns the building says, “the situation is the result of market forces beyond anyone’s control. Surreal times indeed.

[via Consumerist]