West Campus condo owners find squatters in their units
AUSTIN, Texas - Condo owners at 1700 Nueces Street in West Campus found squatters in their homes over the weekend. They said they came to check on their units after going without electricity for two months.
"The door was open. It was unlocked, so I opened the door and I discovered a lot of materials, debris, somebody else’s belongings in my home," a condo owner said.
She said she was scared someone might be inside.
"It was definitely jarring, and my heart was pounding," she said.
She ran downstairs and called 911 and police showed up quickly.
"They walked through the place, there was no one in there, they did discover some drug paraphernalia, so they bagged that and took it away," she said.
After looking around, the condo owner said the squatters stole several items; a portable AC unit, inflatable mattresses, lightbulbs and fixtures, and left her place a mess.
"We actually filled this dumpster up with belongings that people had left behind, and then we actually boarded up the door so no one could gain access to the property again," she said.
Another owner also found their condo with other people’s things in it, and it hasn’t been cleaned up yet.
"Did it make you nervous that maybe your unit was going to be next?" FOX 7 reporter Meredith Aldis asked condo owner Ryan Wallace.
"Yeah, I’m still nervous," Wallace replied.
Wallace was living there full-time. Now, no one is. All 18 units are supposed to be empty because there’s no power and there hasn’t been for two months.
"In the middle of the project, the city of Austin came in and shut off our power and now here we are on the 15th, the 15th of July, and it’s still shut off," Wallace said.
The property manager claimed what was supposed to be an easy fix, replacing an old wall that electrical meters were attached to, turned into a mess. The city claimed the property wasn’t up to electrical code and safety standards.
The work seems to be in limbo.
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"This is just becoming more and more frustrating as it’s drug on and on and on," Wallace said.
"We don’t see an end in sight," the condo owner said.
Owners are begging for this to wrap up quickly.
"I’m still paying a mortgage, still paying homeowners fees, we’re still having a water bill while this is going on," Wallace said.
"We’re way above 10,000 at this point. Personally, it's an impact for expenses, having to pay a mortgage and no income coming in. Now we have theft, and we’re going to have some damage. We’re going to repair and again, we’re not going to know the full extent of it until we have electricity again," the condo owner said.
FOX 7 reached out to the City of Austin for an update on the project and was told we’d receive a response by 3 p.m. on Monday, July 15. As of 5:30 p.m., the city had not provided an update.