Unbelievable LOCAL 2008 House LEFT TO ROT!

[ChristieAcres]

This Home was completed in Fall, 2008, and is just up the road, has a great view of the Hood Canal & Olympic Mountains. The Assessment Value was $736,000 and yearly taxes (yikes) are $7,511/year, no joke. It was never lived in, went through a Foreclosure, sold, another Foreclosure, without even being lived in. It wasn't listed for sale since Oct. 2008, in Nov 2008, it was "winterized," power turned off to the house, and LEFT TO ROT. When the roof began to leak, no one fixed it. When that leak started destroying the house, it was reported and the bank did NOTHING. I phoned the Contractor listed, no call back. I phoned the bank to report the condition & they confirmed it had been reported before. I also called the Dept of Health, Building Dept, of our local County. There is a door unlocked in the back, so any one can go right in.

See is believing- what a shame!















I am adding the rest of the pictures via replies.

[ChristieAcres]

Have any of you seen anything like this happen local to you? I am literally blown away this was allowed to happen and no authorities seem to care! The roof isn't leaking above the upper master bedroom, so that room including this bathroom, and the kitchen beneath are the only areas of the house not rotting. For any effective repair, most of the house will have to be gutted, roof rebuilt, and probably more...$100K+ for what never should have happened. I expect this house will end up being demolished eventually. Unreal?!

[gone-a-milkin]

That should not be happening to a 1 year old house. My old house is 110 years old and sat vacant for 7 years before I bought it. there was a roof leak by the chimney, but nothing as extensive as those pics.

They sure dont build them like they used to.

[Ed Norman]

When we were looking for a place, I saw a house out in the sticks that wasn't lived in. I asked the neighbor, he said the owner is out of state and won't sell. He had tried to buy it to get rid of it, the owner said it will sit there til it rots. Now the shop has fallen over, but the house is still standing.

I also know of a fancy strange log home on a mountain. The owner is across the country and hasn't been there in years. A friend peeked in the windows once, said it is full of packrat nests.

[ChristieAcres]

The roof wasn't built properly, flat, with raised edges in a RAINY CLIMATE?!

[Loquisimo]

CHEAP construction. In downtown Sacramento old Victorians sat for over 20 years vacant before being restored and were still salvageable, yet the new houses collapse after just a couple years. I saw video online of houses in Victorville, in the high Mojave Desert near LA, being demolished after never having been lived in. They were built and allowed to rot. Whole neighborhoods in Victor Valley have been turned over to gangs from Los Angeles, and there's nobody to call the cops, the whole neighborhood is owned by some far off bank. It's amazing.

[WanderingOak]

Originally Posted by gone-a-milkin

That should not be happening to a 1 year old house. My old house is 110 years old and sat vacant for 7 years before I bought it. there was a roof leak by the chimney, but nothing as extensive as those pics.

They sure dont build them like they used to.

I was thinking the same thing. The roofing contractor must have really cut corners in order for it to deteriorate that quickly. I'm surprised that 'salvagers' haven't ripped all of the plumbing and wiring out yet...

[plowjockey]

What are the Authorities supposed to do?

I see rotting, abandoned homes, old and new everywhere I go.

This "McMansion" is the prefect example of greed and excess, for which we are all going to pay a huge price.

Wouldn't be surpised a bit, if this was someone's "starter home". Get the best first, no matter what. No need to buy something reasonable and move up later, if you can afford to do so.

Originally Posted by lorichristie

Have any of you seen anything like this happen local to you? I am literally blown away this was allowed to happen and no authorities seem to care! The roof isn't leaking above the upper master bedroom, so that room including this bathroom, and the kitchen beneath are the only areas of the house not rotting. For any effective repair, most of the house will have to be gutted, roof rebuilt, and probably more...$100K+ for what never should have happened. I expect this house will end up being demolished eventually. Unreal?!

[plowjockey]

With those flat roofs, maybe someone forgot to put gutter in. Looks like they had a swimming pool on the roof, that gave way.

[ChristieAcres]

This is the ONLY house that has been abandoned & there are only 2 new homes on our street. We live in a low crime area and "neighborhood watch" guarantees us less worry about that house except seeing it fall apart. The original owners built this as their "dream home," then couldn't sell their house, so let it go to Foreclosure. There is a mother in law that you enter via a completely enclosed breezeway. It is obvious this was built for two generations to live in.

The authorities should LOCK UP THE HOUSE. That is all I asked to have done. I would be horrified to hear a child went exploring in that home only to fall through the floor...the floors are rotting on the 2nd story, too. Yes, just like a pool up there going through the floor, saw water pouring through the roof like a creek...

[ChristieAcres]

What are the Authorities supposed to do?

I see rotting, abandoned homes, old and new everywhere I go.

Here, in my little town? This is the ONLY new construction to end up this way! The authorities here have too much time on their hands. Lock it up, that all I asked them to do. As I wrote above- to protect children or ignorant teens/adults from injury. It is too late to save the house.

This "McMansion" is the prefect example of greed and excess, for which we are all going to pay a huge price.

This was built by a family who obviously planned to have another generation live with them. Their house didn't sell, so they let this go back to the bank. The next buyer, I knew nothing about, bought the house, then didn't move in & let it go back to the 2nd bank. Never lived in?! We are all, sadly, already paying the price for this and many other blunders & BANK greed...

Wouldn't be surpised a bit, if this was someone's "starter home". Get the best first, no matter what. No need to buy something reasonable and move up later, if you can afford to do so.

Already explained the 1st family's situation. They had to qualify to buy the property for almost $400K (no joke) and put $$$ down, then pay to have that home built via a construction loan (had to qualify for that, too). When that loan came due, their home hadn't sold...the end of that story. This first couple lost a LOT of $$$

On the comment about shoddy materials? Here we have very strict codes. That roof was extremely expensive, so is the stucco siding here. The issue was that the roof was built incorrectly (how it was passed, I have no clue). The house wasn't constructed poorly otherwise. No house could withstand a pool leaking through roof of the home and a stream of water pouring in through that roof every single time it rains. We get a LOT of rain!

plowjockey:

With those flat roofs, maybe someone forgot to put gutter in. Looks like they had a swimming pool on the roof, that gave way.

You said it and how! The last few pictures were of the stairway leading up to the upper floor and the primary damage is seen there, of course. I was very careful where I stood, because the floors weren't safe to stand on up there. My goal in photographing it was to report it, and for no other reason. My frustration lies in that after making all those calls, the back door is still unlocked and I consider this UNSAFE.

[Beeman]

What's the big deal about the house being open? Lots of things are open, doesn't mean anyone should go in.

Pretty good example of building fancy but not good. We have some "dream" homes around here that were never finished or ever lived in.

Just wait until the banks that financed such silliness start going under.

[ChristieAcres]

Beeman:

What's the big deal about the house being open? Lots of things are open, doesn't mean anyone should go in.

Because I am a caring person who does NOT want to see someone injured "exploring" this home. This is going to happen if it is not locked up. The flooring in two of the bedrooms isn't stable enough to stand on...your foot would go right through. Safety, is my primary concern. If I was the neighbor, I would be angry the house was allowed to just rot next to mine. There is a contractor who lives next door in a very well built pretty conservative home he built with $ out of pocket.

Pretty good example of building fancy but not good. We have some "dream" homes around here that were never finished or ever lived in.

Here, a "dream" home that is put up for sale sells as a Short Sale, but sells. Our market isn't that bad...so far holding steady, but mostly Foreclosures/Bank owned/Short Sales. Houses are sold here, not abandoned. This is very unusual!

Just wait until the banks that financed such silliness start going under.

I should have stated the name of the first bank - COUNTRYWIDE. Yep, it already went under! The current bank will if it treats all its other assets this way! This home could have been repaired & sold easily, but for far less.

I am sure seeing this was surprising to many other HTer's out there. We all live in different parts of the Country.

[SunsetSonata]

What a cryin shame! I have a weakness for wrought iron and this home truly was beautiful. If the bank is not willing to invest in the clean-up, I hope they sell it to someone who is willing to repair it. If they're that disinterested in the property, they should sell the thing for a buck instead of paying someone to demolish it. The economy may be as rotten as this house, but due to its location and character, surely someone will be interested in plunking down the $100k to fix it, and either make a good profit, or at the very least, enjoy a beautiful new house with a view and a fantastic value.

[Shrek]

Lack of ventilation from household traffic speeds deterioration of a house also. A local store owner had a house that stood vacant for 6 years and he had to either practically rebuild it or give it and the property it was on away in an As Is Condition lottery associated with premium tickets associated with his gas sales.

My neighbors 60 year old house is starting to have the roof fall in and she has only been dead about a year. I figure to give it another few months of deterioration and then offer her daughter and son about half of their asking price and turn it into a shop building or barn while adding an acre to my pee off the porch buffer zone.

[plowjockey]

Originally Posted by lorichristie

The authorities should LOCK UP THE HOUSE. That is all I asked to have done. I would be horrified to hear a child went exploring in that home only to fall through the floor...the floors are rotting on the 2nd story, too. Yes, just like a pool up there going through the floor, saw water pouring through the roof like a creek...

May not be long before the scroungers and scrappers get the news.

Why not tip-toe over to the back door and screw on a hasp with padlock?

Doesn't sound like anyone would really care.

[Jena]

I lived in an area with a local housing bubble that burst back in the 90's. There were so many foreclosures that they couldn't keep up with them. Houses were in far worst shape than this! I saw some that were literally stripped to the studs with every fixture gone.

The banks got to them eventually, or just sold them as is. Those homes are still there today, so someone bought them and fixed them back up.

If I were you, I'd go steal that bathtub before someone else does

Jena

[ChristieAcres]

Where I live is rather unusual, I know. Our community is full of mostly hardworking people and there is very little crime here. With neighbors caring for each other, and a Contractor living next door, it is highly unlikely that house will get stripped to the studs. It is the ONLY one like this that I know of, that was built in 2008, and left like this. Around here, we have a market that is moving, mostly Short Sales, Foreclosures, Bank Owned... Those are primarily the only houses being sold. Now, that said, there is NO reason I was given why this house wasn't fixed/put on the market (that is what is done here locally). Yes, I wouldn't mind having that tub, either, but not unless I bought it or it was given to me...

[Jena]

It probably depends on the bank that owns it, plus there could be other legal issues that are stalling the re-sell that you don't know about. Maybe the contractor's put a lien on it or something.

My point was that it is not unheard of for foreclosed houses to sit, neglected, for extended periods of time. The area where I was wasn't a bad area either. It just experienced a local version of what is happening nationally now.

Jena

[davel745]

You are looking at a vision of our country. A beautiful country but rotting and nobody is doing anything.

I am making an analogy and have no reflection on the posters.

The house (country) can be saved but at a great expense.

This is what I thought when I viewed the post.

Dave