Thieves targeting nearly-finished Golden Gate Estates homes

Realtors are asking people who live in Golden Gate Estates to be on the lookout—and to pick up the phone to dial 911 if anything looks out of place.

There have been six burglaries in eight weeks in the area.

“It’s a crime of opportunity,” said realtor Miley Rodriguez. “Someone who’s taking advantage of the fact there’s a lot of new construction in the area.”

Rodriguez and colleague Maggie Abreu are two realtors representing homeowners of some of the properties that have been targeted. They say thieves are targeting homes that are nearly finished, dragging out large appliances and causing major damage along the way.

“We’ve instructed sellers to be more cautious to put in the appliances to wait until the house is almost completed or wait til it’s closed to install them,” Abreu said.

One victim says the thieves stole her well water system two days after she moved in. She has since installed security cameras in the event they decide to come back.

“It affects everyone—the homeowner, the buyer and us as a realty company as well,” Abreu said.

Reports say the thieves are stealing almost everything and anything—from fridges to washers and dryers.

Abreu says as an Estates resident herself, it’s unfortunate to see someone ransacking the community she calls home.

“For people who enjoy having animals and privacy, this shouldn’t be something negative,” she said.

Realtors are also installing cameras on their properties in hopes of catching the thieves should they return. So far, no arrests have been made.