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The Mountain Home City Council voted Thursday to begin legal proceedings to demolish an abandoned home at 1417 Hallmark Circle after months of failed attempts to contact the property’s owner.
City Code Enforcement Officer Todd Pease told the council the case began over a year ago. Photos presented to the council showed a hole in the roof and other signs of severe disrepair, with neighbors complaining about rodents living in the house.
“As you can see in the picture, the hole in the roof, we’ve had complaints from all the neighbors about rodents living in the house,” Pease said. He noted that a fence between the house and the neighboring property had to be removed after repeatedly falling onto the neighbor’s property.
Ownership issues complicate the situation. The legal owner died years ago, and attempts to contact a grandson through certified mail have been unsuccessful.
“I went to the water department, and the water department had a contact number for a grandson who was on the billing and stuff. I sent him a certified letter. Got it all back,” Pease said.
The property has no active utilities, with power, gas and water all disconnected. The city has been maintaining the property, with maintenance costs now exceeding $2,000 just for mowing.
Property taxes haven’t been paid “for years,” according to Pease. He reported that someone recently attempted to pay the back taxes, but their check bounced. “The county clerk didn’t know exactly who it was… no one really knew who it was when I was in there,” he said.
City Attorney Roger Morgan explained that the resolution authorizes the city to file a lawsuit seeking court permission to demolish the structure.
“There’s two different ways you can do it at first. You can just go in and tear it down, and that’s not a wise deal. What we do, we go in and get an order from the court,” Morgan said.
The process could take 90-120 days once filed, with an additional 30 days before filing begins. The city will place a lien on the property to recover demolition costs.
“In all honesty, we come out pretty well on most of these things we’ve done like this,” Morgan said. “I think we end up getting our money out first grade.”
