What do you do with a total dump of a house in a neighborhood? (San Antonio: for sale)

[SA_Homeowner]

San Antonio, Encino Park neighborhood. ...

I'm driving around Encino Park just for fun, checking out some of the other homes in the neighboring streets. Most of the homes are priced ~$275-350. Relatively nice homes... would be the equivalent to $600k homes in South Florida or DC Metro area.

I'm going through one neighborhood, and all the homes were built in the mid 80s, all really well maintained. Landscape boulders, nice cars in the driveway, neatly cut lawns, etc.

... and then I come across this one home, and it totally stands out. I won't share the address because I don't want to call them out, but I'm fascinated by how dilapidated it is, and why it's in this neighborhood, and why no one has done anything about it?

I'm all about to each their own, and respecting property rights. I generally hate HOAs... but good Lord????


The grass looks like it hasn't been cut since last year, most of it is weeds. There are like 6 cars parked in and around the driveway, all of them with flat tires. One of them is steamed up inside (heater core leak?). There's a partially busted Jenny Lind bassinette in the driveway, next to a faded and moldy Dogloo (igloo for dogs). There's an 80s beach chair by the front door, and it looks like the front stoop was torn off. That, coupled with the placement of the home, and the fact that everything is overgrown, you can't really tell which part of the house is the front or back. There's an A/C window unit in almost every window... which tells me the central HVAC unit failed and they probably said... "hell with it." There's TWO shopping carts in the yard, one on its side, and one near what I think is the front entrance. Mail box used to be very nice brick structure, but was knocked over, and there's a new one leaning up against it. Paint is starting to peel, and I think the roofing fascias are rotting.


This isn't a multi-million dollar neighborhood, but these are upper-middle class homes. Most of the cars are some kind of Lexus or Audi, or a decked out Ford F250 Super Duty or RAM truck. ...and then... Texas Chainsaw Massacre house.

How does a neighborhood allow that? Literally every other home in the neighborhood is very well maintained, and then... this home... ???

I'm totally fascinated. I want to interview all the neighbors and say... "Hey, how does that home make you feel?" and then go up to the home owner and say... "Why do you have two shopping carts in your yard?"

The only thing it's missing is a fridge or old washing machine in the yard.

[Azure110]

Probably no HOA and lack of city code enforcement.

I may start doing the same to bring my property taxes back down.

[SA_Homeowner]

Originally Posted by Azure110

Probably no HOA and lack of city code enforcement.

I may start doing the same to bring my property taxes back down.

There is definitely an HOA... it's an annual HOA... maybe they're just not enforcing it?

[VeeGer]

Us 5 heirs own the house which I and my sis live in it. No one could agree as to who gets the house in their name so it's a standoff. No work are being done to the house and the house are in sorry shape (bad.)

My sis is a hoarder and she hogged the house where I only have my bedroom. They (her son too) don't keep house that it is filthy. The roof leaks but not my room. My room is my house and I have a freezer, icebox and microwave oven here (all apartment sized.)

I also have an upright pantry for my food and I keep my room clean. I pay quarter share in the utilities and property taxes. My sis don't like it but she can blow me. Nothing she can do about it. Nothing I can do about the trailer trash I'm living with too.

The yard is maintained so there's no junks around, just that the house is a dump. Since the house is still in my mom's name the taxes will still be high.

The house in the thread here sounds like a real dump and the owners don't care. In other words, trailer trash.


On second thought, they probably just don't have money to do anything but making the yard a dumping ground don't sound like money problem. I'm on SSI so I can't do it. My sis's on SS and she work part time so she can make the car payments.

I drive a 15 year old car and I'm a retired mechanic so I keep it up. Have to, can't afford another car.

[Azure110]

Originally Posted by SA_Homeowner

There is definitely an HOA... it's an annual HOA... maybe they're just not enforcing it?

Well there are two types....only one has teeth and is able to enforce rules.....my guess it is the HOA without the teeth.

[BillyH]

311/Code Compliance
Junk Vehicle
Minimum Housing
Yard: Overgrown/ or Trash

[TrapperL]

You can put the address into Google and find the owners name. WE had one just like that in the neighborhood. Grass was never cut in the 15 years it sat there. The owner finally replaced the fallen garage door when vagrants started living there. There's also a Mustang sitting in there that apparently was a nice car. Now it's down to just about frame only as the low life have stripped it. After chatting with a code compliance officer, there wasn't much the city could do with it. Apparently if you are military, you can get by with crap like that. The owner is military and lives in another town. They have since fixed the place up this spring and put it up for sale. Only they were asking about double what the appraisal is for. So now it sits again and the grass is growing back up. The city MIGHT have an option on it though. The area has been declared a "reinvestment" (TIRZ)area for the city and clean up is number one priority. No more junk around, no tall grass, and no dilapidated houses, although there are none around here. So if you find the owners as military, they don't have to do anything including if they rent it.