Central Florida family thankful, spends 1st thanksgiving in new home after mass eviction
A mother of four is giving thanks for a new start after she and dozens of families were forced to vacate their homes by the owner of a mobile home park in Orange County.
Thursday, Lynette Colon allowed Channel 9 into her home before she hosted Thanksgiving dinner for family and friends in their new home.
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“It’s a blessing where I am now from where we met,” said Colon.
Colon’s family was one of dozens woken up by Orange County deputies earlier this month to vacate the property after the property owner of Lake Downey Mobile Home Park filed for eviction against all residents.
During the mass eviction, residents told Eyewitness News they knew about the possibility of removal but didn’t know how it would play out not having contact with the owners.
Orange County officials said the Jain family, who owned and operated the mobile home park, collected rent from families and never bothered to upkeep the property.
The property on Downey Cove Drive now has dozens of no-trespassing signs at the entrance.
At last check, code enforcement cited the Jain Family, who owned the property for issues ranging from no fire hydrants on the property to no running water.
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The owner accrued a noncompliance fine of $1,000 per day. According to Orange County officials, the liens on the property total nearly $2.8 million.
Colon said with prayer and some assistance help, including from generous strangers. she was able to get her family into a comfortable apartment they can call home.
“God works in mysterious ways. You might think he’s not listening to my prayers or whatever, but he does really listen to prayers. He has shown me that even though it took me two to three weeks to get the apartment, he walked me through the hard part of the situation”, said Colon.
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