1 Family Sole Occupants of 32-Story Tower

(AP)  The Vangelakos' southwest Florida condominium has marble floors, a large pool overlooking a river and modern furnishings that speak of affluence and luxury. What they don't have in the 32-story building is a single neighbor.

The New Jersey family of five purchased their unit four years ago, when Fort Myers was in the midst of a housing boom and any hints of an impending financial crisis were buried in lofty dreams of expansion and development. They made a $10,000 down payment and eagerly watched as builders transformed an empty lot into an opulent high rise, one that now symbolizes the foreclosure crisis.

"The future was going to be southwest Florida," said Victor Vangelakos, 45, a fire captain who planned to eventually retire and live permanently in the condo.

Most of the other tenants in the 200-unit condo didn't close on their contracts, and the few that did have transferred to an adjacent building owned by the same company because more people live there.

The Vangelakos' mortgage lender will not allow them to do the same.

That leaves them as the sole residents of the Oasis Tower One.

"It's a beautiful building," said their attorney, John Ewing, who is representing 27 others who made deposits on units. "The problem is, it's a very lonely building."

When the Vangelakos' travel from Weehawken, N.J., to spend a week or a few days in their Florida home, they have exclusive use of the pool, game room and gym, but they miss having a few tenants around.

"Being from the city, it's very eerie," Vangelakos said. "It's almost like a scary movie."

A large, circular fountain in front of the building is dry. The automatic glass doors that lead to the front lobby are locked. On the front desk is a guest sign-in sheet. The last entry: Feb. 13, 2009.

"It's like time froze here six months ago," Ewing said.

Vangelakos said they closed on the apartment in the fall, unaware the other tenants had failed to follow through. When they visited around Christmas, they didn't think much of the emptiness. They were just happy to be there.

"We wanted to believe," Cathy Vangelakos said. "We were looking for what we were offered."

On subsequent visits, however, the building grew more deserted.

The lights on the pool and palm trees were off. Their garbage shoot was sealed, a trash bin placed in front of their unit instead.

Despite the empty units, they faithfully parked in their assigned spot on the second story of the parking garage. Then those lights went off, too.

Then there were security concerns. One night, someone pounded on their door at 11 p.m. They called the front desk at the next door building, which contacted police. A search turned up no one, though a pool entrance was open.

Another morning they awoke to find lounge chairs in the pool.

The parents and their children sleep with their cell phones by their beds.

"I'm not a chicken, but this is a big building," Cathy Vangelakos said.

Betsy McCoy, vice president and associated general counsel with The Related Group, which sold the family their unit, said they have tried to help find a solution - even offering them a unit in the building next door, free of cost, while the situation is resolved.

"They haven't wanted to take us up on that," McCoy said Friday. "They frankly rejected every solution and offer and proposal that we've come up with."

McCoy said some of the interested buyers who put down deposits lost their jobs, others were unable to get mortgages and some were just nervous when the financial collapse came.

The Cape Coral-Fort Myers metropolitan area in Lee County has some of the worst economic stress - a combination of foreclosures, unemployment and bankruptcies - in the country, according to The Associated Press' monthly analysis of more than 3,100 U.S. counties.

The latest AP Economic Stress Index, which assigns each county a score from 1 to 100 with higher numbers reflecting the greatest stress from the recession, found Lee County had a score of more than 20. Anything above 11 is considered stressed.

Victor Vangelakos said they don't want to move to the tower next door because they would still be paying the mortgage and maintenance costs on the condo they own. They paid $430,000 for the unit and took out a $336,000 mortgage - essentially spending their life savings.

He'd like for The Related Group to buy them out.

"They want us to be refugees in Tower II," Victor Vangelakos said. "That's not how I expected us to live here."

The family's attorney said he has filed two lawsuits on behalf of would-be tenants because the building wasn't finished as promised. He said they expected a clubhouse, marina, private cinema and restaurants.

McCoy said those amenities could be developed, but were never promised.

On Friday evening, the pool area was dark, most of the doors locked. Cathy Vangelakos and her 19-year-old daughter, Amanda, stepped into an elevator to head up to their unit. "Going up," an automated voice chimed.

"Going up," Cathy Vangelakos said. "That's all we hear."
By Associated Press Writer Christine Armario

[cameraphone]

It could be worse. All of the people posting here could move in.

[Sloughfoot]

This ain't news, folks. This is poor descision making by one family. **** happens.

[Illuminated1]

If I were them, I'd negotiate to move to the penthouse, and have them seal off all the other floors except the fire escapes...that way they would have some privacy, a view to die for, and a whole building to themselves...
BTW, what is the going price for unsellable condos?

[erehak]

My comment is a correction for the writer of this piece: The Vangelakos' garbage "shoot" was not sealed. Their garbage "chute" was sealed. If there's one thing a professional writer/reporter should know about the English language, it is that not all words are spelled as they are pronounced. Doesn't CBS News have copy readers anymore?

[mary-miami]

In Miami, there are "for rent" signs everywhere. It is difficult to find a street that doesn't have one. There are also condominiums that only have a few residents living in them, most of them are fairly empty. This is one of the poorest cities in the nation, and with so many people unemployed, many got evicted or foreclosed on.

[animaltoo]

Wait a minute. A fire captain affording a get-away condo in Florida until he moves down there? Wow.

[hellosopo]

It sounds like a dream building to me. I don't think this couple should expect to be bought out, but it would behoove the developer to keep the building in pretty good shape and well secured if they ever do expect to sell the other units. This tenant is still paying the condo association fees, and one should expect lights to be on in common areas (pool, parking garage) for the money paid. They have some valid concerns, but complaining about the lack of neighbors isn't one of them.

[krw127]

The question people should ask is why we pay people employed in public jobs enough to buy a second residence - one that costs $450,000 not counting maintenance fees.

[Dgunner]

I live very HIGH in the kiamichi mountain range . My closeset neighbor is 6 miles. I get company five times a year. I burn my trash , eat the wildlife and fish the mountain lakes.I see the forest colors in the fall and watch the world renew in the spring.I can count all the stars from my porch and make wine from the natural fruit. I also grow my own {garden].I feed wild deer at day break and eat deer meat for dinner. I fly fish for free and eat bass and crappie for lunch and dinner and duck on sunday. My church has a natural choir and the attendance is always staggering.I guess if you feel the need to be compared by others based on your success and address i guess a florida condo is ok. The only way i will leave my mountain is in a coffin.

[Gasserpe]

No consideration for the poor and needy what-so-ever! Turn the building into a shelter, jail, offices, or whatever that could help the poor. Of course it cost the Rothchild's money.