why whould a house be vacant for years?

there is a house on my block that I don't remember ever being occupied. And I've lived there 6 yrs. It was renovated like 3 years ago and it remains vacant. I am dying to know.

Re: why whould a house be vacant for years?

A parent could have died and the children kept the house. The person could be in a nursing home,they moved overseas, etc..

Re: why whould a house be vacant for years?

There's a house like that on my block, 2 doors down. I've been living here 10+ years and its never been lived in. Once a month or so, someone comes and mows the lawn. It's very rarely shoveled in the winter (no sidewalks, it's just the driveway). No mail that I can see. A few years ago, they sided the house, did all new brick walk way, etc. I thought for sure it would go up for sale. Nope. Nothing.

Re: why whould a house be vacant for years?

Well with our old house - the house had been vacant for 2 years. In that case the wife had died from cancer and the husband got a job offer out of state and took it b.c it paid better and he had two young children. The house was way overpriced which is why it was on the market for a long time - but 1st I think he rented it out for a while before deciding if he wanted to sell or just rent.

The house next door to that one however was empty long before we moved in. In that case the woman who owned the house lived in Suffolk and had 2 other homes apparently. She apparently didn't want to sell that house but didn't want to do anything with it either. Glad to be gone and not have it next to us anymore.

Re: why whould a house be vacant for years?

MIL kept her mother's house vacation for almost 20 years. For whatever reason she just couldn't get rid of it.

Re: why whould a house be vacant for years?

No one lived in my house for 16 years before we moved in. It was basically one long story after another as to why it remained empty. They even redid a lot of things in 2006 with the intention of moving in but that never happened.

Re: why whould a house be vacant for years?

we have a vacant house on our block. There was an older couple living there that went into a nursing home and the kids can't decide what to do with it I guess.

It's an eyesore. The house is in terrible condition and the lawn hasn't been mowed in years

Re: why whould a house be vacant for years?

Theres a house on my parents block that has been vacant for at least 4 years. The family moved in the middle of the night and just abandoned it. It is now in foreclosure.

Re: why whould a house be vacant for years?

House on my block has been vacant for several years. The owner moved in with her son down south, and just let it go to HE<<.

Every year the town will come in after neighbors complain and clean it up/mow..but thats it!

Re: why whould a house be vacant for years?

There's a house on my BF's block that has been vacant for 3 years. The elderly woman who was living there is now in a nursing home. The son can't sell it until his mother passes away, so until then it just sits there.

Re: why whould a house be vacant for years?

We have a vacant house on our block. It was bought from an estate sale, and the new owners expanded and updated the house. It has been vacant for about 3 years, and every time they have to apply for a permit, it gets delayed. They have been delayed so many times that they had to re-apply for the initial build permt b/c it expired! It looks like they are almost done finally.

Re: why whould a house be vacant for years?

Re: why whould a house be vacant for years?

my house now was vacant for over a year. the owners mother passed away and he inherited her house. they knocked that one down and built a beautiful brand new home. they listed this house for sale and moved into that one. they were asking way too much $$ for this house. it was on the market for 15months. they weekend they lowered the price by $100,000 it sold.

Re: why whould a house be vacant for years?

my best friend's childhood home is vacant, for 2ish years

her father died in 2007, then her mother in 2009 and there is still 275k on the mortgage. she cannot afford it so she is letting it go into foreclosure (under attorneys direction) and they have yet to foreclose on it.

unfortunately, it is a small cape and needs a TON of work. probably isnt worth what is left on the mortgage so they can't sell it.

sad. she has to go back to the house every 2 weeks to mow. must be so hard to go back - back to all those memories.

you never know the circumstances of these things. keep that in mind everyone!