Vacant house next door

rosweed · June 2009

The house next to ours has been vacant since before we moved into our house 5 years ago. The owner lived somewhere on Long Island and used to drive in to pick up his mail each day. I talked to him a few times before he died a couple of years ago. His daughter now pays someone to pick up the mail, flyers and trash that accumulate in the front of the house. The small one story that juts out from the house into the back yard has been slowly decaying and the roof is about to collapse. I was up on my main roof yesterday to clean out the gutter, and I noticed that the main roof of the vacant place seems to be sagging toward the back of the house. There's a large puddle of water there now. I am afraid that the roof is going to collapse which could damage our house. At the very least, it's going to allow water to fill their basement which would probably seep into our basement. We've contacted the owner about other maintenance issues, and she doesn't seem inclined to do anything. Any suggestions about possible solutions to ward off what seems inevitable? Thanks in advance.

capt. planet · June 2009

I'd be curious about what the owner says in response to your concerns. Why doen't she just sell the place instead of paying real estate taxes on a property that is earning no income. Am I being too logical here? As far as I can see, she is just sitting on a big accident waiting to happen.

squindar · June 2009

if you think the roof is going to collapse, I'd call 311 &/or the buildings dept. &/or go to your local FDNY station house and tell them you think the building may collapse.

rosweed · June 2009

Capt-I don't know what the deal is. There's probably some sort of inheritance battle going on, but that's a guess.

squindar-those are good ideas, thanks! I will try talking to her. I should probably talk to my insurance agent, too.

xlizellx · June 2009

call 311 or the fire department. i just saw that building in clinton hill that collapsed today. That is really scary! They evacuated the whole block because of it. Better to get it taken care of now because someone is hurt or your building is damaged.

opossumqueen · June 2009

I agree with the others. Call 311 or the fire department. There's a good chance there are gas lines in the house and a potential collapse or even small interior decay could lead to a serious leak and problem.

spnder · June 2009

It's been a long time, but I seem to recall that a neighbor has a duty to maintain their property so not to cause damage to yours. Might want to look it up.

Also, this would be a great thing to post to Brownstoner's forum.

Vacant house next door

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