House next door has been vacant for years, fence is falling apart

Real Estate Investor · LI, NY · Member since 2011 · 26 posts · 3 votes

This house has been vacant for about 6 years. The wooden fence of this property is just rotting away and falling apart, I literally have it being held up with rope. I have called the number that is left on the property and was told they can't do anything about it and it's our problem.

What can I do about this?

We do have a large in-ground pool in our yard and many children around our area. My property has gates all around, the only way a child will have access to our yard is from the fence of this vacant house as it will continue to fall. That is my major concern, my other is just the curb appeal. It's hideous.

My tenants pay very good rent and also feel bad that they have to look at this.

The fence goes along the entire backyard, and my yard is about half acre.

What are my options?

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Andrew M.

Rental Property Investor · San Diego, CA · Member since 2016 · 73 posts · 55 votes

....buy the vacant property?

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Abel CurielBusiness Member
Real Estate Agent · Queens, NY · Member since 2016 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
8y
Hey Shane!
I see you're out on Long Island... My guess is that the owner is just going to let this go on forever or until they're forced to do something about it.
The attorney on our team is based in Huntington, I can connect you to him as he may have the best answer for you.
Shoot me a PM if interested.
Best of luck to you!
-Abel
REbuild Team - eXp Realty5234 Reviews
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Tim Kaminski
St. Petersburg, FL · Member since 2015 · 317 posts · 71 votes
8y
Why can't you just put a fence up on your side of the property?
2 Reply
Andrew M.
Rental Property Investor · San Diego, CA · Member since 2016 · 73 posts · 55 votes
8y
....buy the vacant property?
3 Reply
Amy Beth
Rental Property Investor · Edison, NJ · Member since 2016 · 753 posts · 565 votes
8y
Unless you plan to buy it and fix it up yourself, I would just add a fence on your property on that side of that if it is the only side of your yard that is not fenced. With a pool you should always have it completely fenced off to prevent a neighborhood kid from drowning. I would not assume that the bank whom owns it or the town will care about the broken fence and replace it. It is possible that when someone does eventually buy the property that they will tear down the fence and not replace it. So I would not wait and just hope for a miracle. I would make sure your pool is fenced off yourself if it was me.
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Grant Rothenburger
Investor · Taylor Mill, KY · Member since 2016 · 2k+ posts · 964 votes
8y
@Shane X. You could put a fence up on your property, or as @Andrew M. says, buy the house next door lol.
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Carol C.
Investor · Nassau County, NY · Member since 2016 · 82 posts · 43 votes
8y
@Shane X. - First, put your own fence up. Second, what township? Most townships on LI are getting fed-up with the Owners who aren't taking care of these properties. Many towns are actively taking over the properties or fixing the problems and billing the owners. Recently I bought in Brookhaven Township, literally the day after closing, a town crew showed up and a started cleaning - the collapsed pool, assorted crap - into a dumpster and GONE. The project co-ordinator went to the town to find out what was going on. Seems there was an outstanding violation against the Bank (property was a REO.) The violation didn't come up in our due diligence search at the town building department or the Title search. Perhaps a discussion with the town is in order? Do you not want to purchase it?
Good luck,
Carol
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