LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – A Las Vegas Valley home targeted by squatters has been boarded up for a third time, and frustrated neighbors want the homeowner’s family to finally step in to take care of the property.
FOX5 has covered the chronic challenges surrounding the property as squatters continue to break in. On October 22, a county crew returned to board up the home once again. No squatters were found inside, this time.
FOX5 has finally heard from the homeowner’s family on the situation.
Property records show that the home belongs to an elderly woman in her 80s. Last year, her family moved her out of state to care for her. The home has remained unoccupied and utilities are disconnected.
In an email to FOX5, her son said that they have called police about the squatters a number of times, but there is only so much that can be done when the homeowner isn’t present; his mother is in no condition to travel back to Nevada, the email states.
The home is in a reverse mortgage; her son tells FOX5, they have been trying to give the home back, but are having trouble doing so.
Neighbors tell FOX5 that they are skeptical about the urgency to get rid of the home. Neighbors are still dealing with a lingering smell and debris all over the property. Some believe that the home has attracted rats to the area.
“Give it back to the damn bank, and let the bank clean it up and sell it, instead of torturing the neighborhood,” a concerned neighbor tells FOX5.
County officials tell FOX5, homeowners can receive citations and penalties for the cost of “abatement”: the process of boarding up and sealing property that is declared a health hazard.
A lien of $1,350 was placed on the home for the July 30 abatement.
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