Company helping Cape Coral neighbors but not all properties in city

For over a month now we’ve told you about the plans by the city of Cape Coral to acquire 19 acres east of Bimini Basin that’s forcing some neighbors to vacate the properties they’re currently renting and living in. Now, we’re hearing from a company offering help for these families to help them relocate.

Lisa Wiskowski is the Broker and President of Florida Resale Properties, Inc. A family-owned business who heard about these neighbors’ unique situation from the property owner of the properties these families are currently living in.

• RELATED: Renters said they’re unaware Cape Coral Project requires them to vacate

“I have worked with the family that owns the property for over 35 years,” said Wiskowski. “When the property went under contract, we had communication about how we were going to help them transition. My daughter gave them a list last week, of what we had available. And we’ve been contacted by a couple tenants already.”

Wiskowski showed a list of 17 properties available right for the neighbors to move into. Because of their unique situation, she’s helping out. Like deducting the amount of the security deposit these neighbors may have to wait up to 15 days to receive from the amount they have to pay up front.

• RELATED: Cape Coral says they’ll help neighbors forced to vacate but community still has questions

“As long as they take all their personal property out of the units, the deposits will be transferred to us,” Wiskowski said. “Let’s say they’re moving into a home that’s $2,000 and they have $1,500 security deposit. They’d only have to come up with the $500.”

Shannon Diem, a neighbor who has lived in the property soon to be acquired by the city for 11 years said it’s a help for this community of working-class people some of who rely on financial assistance like Social Security and disability.

“I already found a place, because when this all first broke out, I was panicking,” said Diem. “My whole mission on this whole thing was to reach out to anybody out there to help all these families and people who need relocation.”

The only issue is out of the 17 properties available today, only 11 of them are in Cape Coral.

 “A lot of these people work in the cape. A lot walk,” said Diem. “They take public transportation. A lot of times the bus routes, they don’t let you off at the places where you need to go, so you have to walk a long way. So that can be difficult to try to get around something like that. That’s a big issue, right there. You have children that have gone through things. They start school, brand new school, and now all of a sudden, you know, they’re getting uprooted.”

Wiskowski did say the number of available properties change month to month. So more could become available in Cape Coral soon.

The city has yet to give an answer as to when this sale will be finalized.