Abandoned homes can cause several problems for the neighborhood and the community. These issues can range from blight to safety hazards. Firstly, abandoned homes are often left to deteriorate and become unsightly, which can bring down the aesthetic appeal of the entire street and neighborhood. They also reduce property values in the surrounding areas, leading to a decline in the real estate market. Moreover, vacant properties are more likely to attract crime, vandalism, and squatters, posing a risk to the safety of residents.
Furthermore, abandoned homes often fall into disrepair, and if left unaddressed, can lead to structural issues that can impact adjacent properties. Abandoned homes can also attract pests and wildlife, making them a nuisance for surrounding homeowners. These problems can persist for months or even years, and if not dealt with promptly, can worsen and impact the surrounding neighborhood’s quality of life.
So, if you have an abandoned house next to your property, it’s essential to take action. At Old Harbor Properties, we recommend reaching out to local government agencies or non-profit organizations that deal with property abandonment. These organizations can assist in locating the property owner or handling the legal issues surrounding the property’s abandonment.
The Problem With Abandoned Homes
If you are dealing with an abandoned home in your neighborhood, there are several options that you can consider to address the situation:
- Contact the property owner: If you know who owns the abandoned property, you can reach out to them and inform them of the issues that the abandoned home is causing in the neighborhood. They may be willing to take action to address the problem.
- Contact local authorities: If the abandoned home is posing a safety hazard or is in violation of any local laws or ordinances, you can contact your local code enforcement or police department to report the issue.
- Form a community group: You can work with your neighbors to form a community group to address the issue of the abandoned home. Together, you can develop a plan to bring attention to the issue and put pressure on the property owner or local authorities to take action.
- Purchase the property: In some cases, the best option may be to purchase the abandoned home yourself. This can be a good solution if you are willing and able to invest the time and money to bring the property up to code and make it habitable.
Overall, addressing an abandoned home in your neighborhood can be a challenging task, but with persistence and cooperation among community members, it is possible to find a solution that benefits everyone.
So those are some of the problems that abandoned homes can cause. But what can you do about it? Let’s take a look at some options…
What You Can Do About an Abandoned Home in New England
There are a few things you can do if there’s an abandoned house in your neighborhood. Here are some of the most common options:
Do Nothing
This is technically an option. Just not a good one.
You could do nothing and just hope that someone else takes care of the problem. This is probably not a good idea because everyone’s job is no one’s job… and the longer the property sits, the worse the problem is going to get.
Call The City
You could call the city and ask them to deal with the abandoned home. This might be a good idea if you don’t want to deal with it or if you don’t know how to deal with it.
But there are a few things to keep in mind before you do this:
- The city might not have the resources to deal with every abandoned home.
- It can take a long time for the city to deal with an abandoned home.
- The city might not be able to afford to buy every abandoned home.
Contact The Owner
If you know who owns the abandoned home, you could contact them and ask them to fix it up or sell it to someone else. This is probably your best option, but it can be difficult to track down the owner.
You could try contacting them through mail, email, or even social media. But you might not get a response, and even if you do, keep in mind that they might not be willing to fix up the home or sell it to you.
Call The Bank
If the home is in foreclosure, you could call the bank and ask them to deal with it. Again, this can be a good option because it’s someone else’s job to deal with foreclosed homes.
Don’t Trespass
Whatever you do, don’t trespass on the property. This is illegal, and it’s not worth getting in trouble with the law.
You might want to take it upon yourself to mow the lawn or trim the bushes, but this is technically trespassing. So it’s best to leave it alone and let the experts deal with it.
If you want to go inside, you could try asking the owner for permission or asking the city for a tour. But be careful because trespassing is a serious offense, and you could end up getting in trouble.
Call a Professional
If you want to make sure the problem is dealt with quickly and efficiently, you could call a professional company like us over at Old Harbor Properties to deal with it for you.
We’re real estate investors, so we’re experts at dealing with abandoned homes. We’ll contact the owner of the property, make them a fair cash offer, and take care of all the paperwork and logistics.
We know how to deal with every kind of abandoned home, so you can rest assured that the problem will be taken care of quickly and efficiently. You can call us at (781) 549-0271.
Final Thoughts
If you have an abandoned home in your neighborhood, there are a few things you can do about it. You could call the city or the bank, but they might not be able to help.
The best thing to do is to contact the owner and try to make a deal with them. But if you can’t find the owner or you don’t want to deal with it yourself, you can always call us at (781) 549-0271. We’re professional real estate investors, and we’re experts at dealing with abandoned homes. We’ll make the owner a fair cash offer and restore the property as quickly as possible.
Who is Old Harbor Properties?
We are local New England residents that focus on buying properties off-market (with no commissions) for cash. We are not “flippers” or “investors” looking to pay pennies on the dollar. We are local Sox fans with families and we focus on buying rental properties. This allows us to make fair market value offers based on comparable sales and needed repairs. If you want to sell the property where you’re currently living, give us a call at (781) 208-7362 we can make you a fair cash offer, buy as-is, and close in as little as two weeks!
