Champlain Tower condo was for sale day after ‘sister’ tower fell. The seller got hate mail
A day after the Champlain Towers South condominium collapsed, a condo went up for sale in one of its sister towers. Realtor Siarhei Zavadski says the timing was a coincidence, but after a day of receiving hate messages he took down the listing.
On Tuesday, Zavadski had gotten permission from the owner to sell the condo located in Champlain Towers East, which is less than 400 feet away from where its sister tower collapsed. So far, the official death toll has climbed to five, with 156 people still unaccounted for.
The three-bedroom, two-bath condo was listed on Zillow for $1,375,000 on Friday. Zavadski said it took a couple of days for photos of the condo to be taken and uploaded to the site. He said the collapse of the South tower the day before didn’t influence his decision.
Later that day, Zavadski had taken down the listing after receiving several vulgar calls and messages from people who had thought the condo was in the South tower and he was playing a cruel joke.
One person called him a “f------ idiot”.
When he tried to clear up the confusion with screenshots showing it was the East tower and not the South, some people apologized others did not, he said.
“They see Champlain and they sent hate messages,” Zavadski said. “I understand it is a tragedy, but people misunderstand the situation.”
Current owner Yelena Braz had bought the condo for $1,080,000 in October, according to Miami-Dade County’s property appraiser. Zavadski said the owner was moving to a new home and wanted to quickly sell the condo.
Zavadski has been a realtor in South Florida for 10 years, but this was his first Sunrise property. He’s sold high-end properties in the past and wasn’t expecting a challenge until the building collapse.
“I have no idea what to do next,” Zavadski said. “
Worries about the integrity of Champlain Towers North and East have mounted. By late Saturday afternoon, voluntary evacuations were under way at the other two towers.
The North is the same age and similar design to the South tower, which had been flagged as having “major structural damage” at least three years ago.
Zavadski and the owner aren’t worried about any collapses in the East tower since it is a newer building made in 1994, he said.
The hate messages and the worries won’t stop Zavadski, who said he will put the listing back up in about 10 days. While other proprieties he’s worked with sold in about one to three months, he’s not sure when this condo may go.
“Maybe when they clear the place and everyone comes back to normal life it may sell,” Zavadski said.
