something I've never seen before

[MrGee]

The house across the street from me has been vacant for about 3 or 4 months and a few days ago a sticker appeared on the front door of it. Being a curious type, I went over to see what it said and it was something like..this house has been found vacant and abandoned and has been winterized in accordance with....yadda, yadda. Anybody ever seen a 'vacant and abandoned' sticker on a house before?

MrGee

 

[Larry (IL)]

Yep, seen a lot of them, most likely a repossession but it doesn't have to be to be winterized.

 

[GoGoGopher]

As far as I know, if a house is abandoned here in NY, it becomes City Property...I may be wrong on this though...

HH,

 

[dahut]

Yes, that is common, depending on the locale. Here they are stickered, too, primarily as a warning to keep out.
But no one spends the time or money to 'winterize' them.

 

[MrGee]

up here in Wisconsin if it sits empty without being winterized, it will be a total loss by spring. Frozen water pipes make a heck of a mess.

MrGee

 

[ralph]

Probably depends who repod it. Just a heads up there was a program at fha/va/hud repoed hoses that were from hud could be purchased for 1/2(at auction) price if the bidder is policeman or fireman at and it's for primary residence. I dont know if this still exists,but learned of it at the hud website. Hud homes are usually vacant for 2 years before being auctioned.

 

[C E Stricklin]

Some banks and mortgage companies have the vacant abandoned properties on which they hold the paper winterized to protect their investment even if they have not started foreclosure. I do this part time, winterize them and change the locks, for which I am paid a flat rate plus expenses, mileage and materials. A bonus is that I also have the opportunity to search these locations. While I am not involved in it, they also have the yards maintained during the warmer months.

 

[Onus]

I was the Code Enforcement Manager of a City of about 600,000 inhabitants for the last ten years before I retired. Our Inspectors routinely placarded vacant unsecured buildings. Besides being an eyesore they present an attractive nuisance for the homeless, drunks, drug users, dangerous fires, and ganbangers. Our nuisance ordinances are written with a specific abatement procedure as set forth by state law in order to protect the public and preserve property values for abuting property owners. Generally an abatement order requires that the property be cleaned of all trash, junk and debris as well as being boarded up and or secured in a safe manner. It is the responsibility of the property owner to maintain the property up to code. If they don't, the City may declare the property a nuisance and proceed to do whatever is necessary to attain compliance. The charges for the work are collected by the city in the form of a lien in the amount of the fees charged. If the lien isn't paid within a specific amount of time the building or house lein may foreclosed on by the City and the property sold. All proceeds go to the City. It is also a criminal violation not to maintain your property and you may be fined and/or imprisoned not more than 90 days for every seperate violation. The placard is posted conspicuously on the property mainly to warn the public of the unsafe conditions and also to serve as notice to the property owner. I have attended conferences throughout the USA, and that is basicaly the same or similar procedure in each city or jurisdiction. Nearly all urban areas adhere to specific national property codes. Hope that helps understand how the system works. Onus

 

[MrGee]

Thanks for the info from the guy who knows, Onus. The place hasn't been empty all that long...only 4 or 5 months and someone kept the lawn taken care of when needed. So far the place is still neat and orderly but as you said, they are easily targets for a number of undesirable types...including people with metal detectors if they aren't too careful. since it's kist across the street, I kinda keep an eye on it and so far so good. It also helps that we're a small town and don't have a huge problem with homeless, gangs, etc. Kids who like the sound of breaking glass are always something to watch for.

MrGee

 

[Larry2145]

i see alot of abandoned houses these days with forclosures and whatever.