Zandra Mederos and Leonor Garrido of The Firm Real Estate Group LLC recently partnered with the Opa-locka mayor and city manager to place 33 residents into comfortable and safe housing in less than 24 hours after a fire destroyed their apartment house.
The police and fire departments, Florida Power and Light and the American Red Cross also were instrumental in meeting the needs of these residents in record-breaking time
“Because we have a few properties in the Opa-locka area, we’ve established a good relationship with the city,” Mederos said. “The city manager called us the night of the fire. We identified an appropriate property and started making arrangements for these residents first thing in the morning.”
The night of the fire, the families were provided shelter by the American Red Cross at Best Inn on NW 36th Street. Early the next morning, Mederos and Garrido met with their client, the owner of newly renovated Aswan Manor Apartments, and negotiated the agreement with the City of Opa-locka to provide the displaced residents with housing.
Families started moving in that afternoon and Mederos and Garrido were there to assist them. Florida Power and Light quickly activated the power in 20 of the newly renovated two-bedroom, one-bath apartments and the new residents received food, cots and blankets from the American Red Cross and the New Beginning Embassy of Praise.
“We were able to act quickly, without attorneys or a long process, to start moving families into Aswan Manor,” Mederos said. “We continued to check on the residents until we were sure that they were all settled and comfortable. It was a happy ending to a devastating situation.”
Mederos and Garrido have more than 15 years combined experience in the residential and commercial real estate market. Mederos specializes in commercial real estate and Garrido is the head of the residential division and international business. The Firm, based in West Kendall, manages all aspects of business in commercial and residential real estate, and Mederos and Garrido are Certified Distressed Property Experts, specializing in short sales and foreclosures.
“It’s a distressed market right now, so our experience and expertise meets the demand and needs of the local market, our clients and investors,” Garrido said.
The Firm Real Estate Group is located at 4155 SW 130 Ave., Suite 115, and the telephone number is 305-222-9292. For more information on the services offered, visit online at <www.thefirmofflorida.com>.
