What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Pennsylvania, Lackawanna County, Old Forge
Hello all. Thank you for viewing my thread.
My wife and I own a corner lot house. We have owned it for several years, and she owned it a few years before I even moved in. Our problem is with the property next door. A few years ago, an elderly woman lived there who had passed away about two years ago. I found out, that was the property owner's mother. Since then, no one has lived in the property, which is a three-unit housing building. It has been on the market since then as well, with the price steadily decreasing. From my observations, several realtors come and go, and claim people have put offers in for the property, but nothing changes. This is where we are today. The property own currently lives in Florida, and makes no attempt at maintaining or showing face at the property.
The condition of the property is deplorable, at best. My wife and I actually considered purchasing the property, with the intent to rent out the units at one time. Her grandfather and uncle are both certified contractors. She did a walk through of the property with them and they had nothing good to say about it. Basically, we are talking about a complete overhaul of the property, just to get it up to code.
About two years ago, a large portion of their concrete retaining wall separating our properties collapsed and spilled dirt and concrete onto our back patio area. Since then, other portions of the wall have collapsed, and the condition of the property continues to deteriorate. The two other neighbors, whom property abuts the property in dispute have also complained about overgrowth affecting their property. During the summer, weeks go by before the grass and overgrowth is mowed and trimmed. We have had critters in our yard and bugs in our basement and our garage which we normally would not have. If we didn't have cats, we might have mice as well. In the winter, nobody tends to the snow removal of the property. We had a storm here, last summer, in which the entire window unit of the property, on the first floor, fell out completely and shattered on our property. About a week went by before anyone showed up to fix it. In a nutshell, the property is a safety/fire hazard and should be condemned and torn down.
I have become particularly adamant in having something done over the past few weeks. For one, I am tired of having my property affected by the negligence of this property. Another reason, is we plan on fixing up our back patio area, where their wall has collapsed onto, and setting up our hot tub out there. It's something that is on hold until this issue is resolved and the wall is repaired. Both my other neighbors have stated their frustration, and are willing to participate in any kind of action I take. I have their support and statements. I also took dozens of pictures of the property for my records. Particularly of the collapsed wall and cracks in the structure. I have also emailed the owner of the property 3 weeks ago, and he has not responded since. I have his phone number, but I'm not sure if I should call him.
There is also a notice from the county, on the door, for unpaid taxes since July 2012. There is a notice that says that the property can be sold to whoever pays the taxes on the property. I'm not sure how this works, exactly. If anyone has any expertise on this issue, please let me know. If we can purchase the property for a fraction of the market value, we will do so. I will demolish the structure and use the large yard they have.
I want to know if anyone has any advice on where we can go from here. Should we pursue a lawsuit? Contact the owner? The county? Buy the property for the land? Anything that anyone can provide, either from experience or expertise, I would GREATLY appreciate it. My email is [email protected] if you would like to talk directly. For more info, I'd gladly talk over the phone. Please contact me. We are not sure where to go!
THANK YOU!
Hello all. Thank you for viewing my thread.
My wife and I own a corner lot house. We have owned it for several years, and she owned it a few years before I even moved in. Our problem is with the property next door. A few years ago, an elderly woman lived there who had passed away about two years ago. I found out, that was the property owner's mother. Since then, no one has lived in the property, which is a three-unit housing building. It has been on the market since then as well, with the price steadily decreasing. From my observations, several realtors come and go, and claim people have put offers in for the property, but nothing changes. This is where we are today. The property own currently lives in Florida, and makes no attempt at maintaining or showing face at the property.
The condition of the property is deplorable, at best. My wife and I actually considered purchasing the property, with the intent to rent out the units at one time. Her grandfather and uncle are both certified contractors. She did a walk through of the property with them and they had nothing good to say about it. Basically, we are talking about a complete overhaul of the property, just to get it up to code.
About two years ago, a large portion of their concrete retaining wall separating our properties collapsed and spilled dirt and concrete onto our back patio area. Since then, other portions of the wall have collapsed, and the condition of the property continues to deteriorate. The two other neighbors, whom property abuts the property in dispute have also complained about overgrowth affecting their property. During the summer, weeks go by before the grass and overgrowth is mowed and trimmed. We have had critters in our yard and bugs in our basement and our garage which we normally would not have. If we didn't have cats, we might have mice as well. In the winter, nobody tends to the snow removal of the property. We had a storm here, last summer, in which the entire window unit of the property, on the first floor, fell out completely and shattered on our property. About a week went by before anyone showed up to fix it. In a nutshell, the property is a safety/fire hazard and should be condemned and torn down.
I have become particularly adamant in having something done over the past few weeks. For one, I am tired of having my property affected by the negligence of this property. Another reason, is we plan on fixing up our back patio area, where their wall has collapsed onto, and setting up our hot tub out there. It's something that is on hold until this issue is resolved and the wall is repaired. Both my other neighbors have stated their frustration, and are willing to participate in any kind of action I take. I have their support and statements. I also took dozens of pictures of the property for my records. Particularly of the collapsed wall and cracks in the structure. I have also emailed the owner of the property 3 weeks ago, and he has not responded since. I have his phone number, but I'm not sure if I should call him.
There is also a notice from the county, on the door, for unpaid taxes since July 2012. There is a notice that says that the property can be sold to whoever pays the taxes on the property. I'm not sure how this works, exactly. If anyone has any expertise on this issue, please let me know. If we can purchase the property for a fraction of the market value, we will do so. I will demolish the structure and use the large yard they have.
I want to know if anyone has any advice on where we can go from here. Should we pursue a lawsuit? Contact the owner? The county? Buy the property for the land? Anything that anyone can provide, either from experience or expertise, I would GREATLY appreciate it. My email is [email protected] if you would like to talk directly. For more info, I'd gladly talk over the phone. Please contact me. We are not sure where to go!
THANK YOU!