Abandoned House

I live in a pretty modest, blue-collar neighborhood. One of the corner houses on my block has been vacant for at least a year. It was rented by tenants who severely mistreated the property. There is a tarp covering part of the roof.

Recently, I met the owner's son (he's in his 60s). Apparently, the owner is 90 year olds, bed-ridden and lives OOS. The son, who also lives OOS, has no plans to repair the house but rather sell the property after his father's death.


Can a homeowner / homeowner's children leave a house a complete eye soar? Since they do not live locally, I doubt they care about the community. I live in the Town of Islip so I'm wondering if I can report this. However, if the owner pays the taxes, I'm afraid there is no course of action.



ETA: I sympathize for the man with the elderly father but I wish he would sell the property.

Message edited 7/17/2012 7:52:47 PM.

Re: Abandoned House

The house next door to me has been abandoned for seven years. As long as they keep the lawn cut and pay the taxes, there is nothing that can be done.

Re: Abandoned House

I don't know if there is a lot you can do.

Unfortunately, in this market especially, there are a lot of houses in a similar state.

I have at least 2 in my neighborhood. I think the reason they must be in such disrepair is because they went into foreclosure.

The properties are over-run with weeds and growth and the houses are falling apart.

Both of them were for sale for quite some time and now when you walk by, there are some kind of paper notices on the front door.

This makes me horribly sad, because there are so many people out there who need a place to live that would take care of these houses IF they could afford it.

Unfortunately, here on LI, that is no longer a reality for most.

I know how hard it is for DH and I and we are considered "middle class".

Re: Abandoned House

There is a house on my parents block that sounds similar. The neighbors keep calling the town due to overgrown grass and weeds, broken light fixtures, etc., and they keep getting fined. You can try calling your town and complaining and see if they do anything about it.

Re: Abandoned House

There was a house in my neighborhood that actually was demolished because the neighbors got together and had it done. One guy called Newsday and there was a couple of articles about it. Here's a link.

Click!

Re: Abandoned House