My question involves real estate located in the State of: MI
I'm asking on behalf of my aunt who is beside herself over this.
The house right next to hers, was occupied by literally slobs. Overcrowded, couldn't pay for running water or trash removal, just horrible.
Ok, thankfully they are finally evicted. In the process of them moving, they left an open bin of some kind of used oil in the backyard.
A dumpster packed with trash for over a month now. (And while they were moving, for the first time ever my aunt got a rodent problem. our best guess is they were running from that slum into her house.)
They stuffed garbage, broken glass, wire and who knows what else into every crawl space.
She has seen the inside and it's loaded with black mold. Moss grows on the roof, windows broken, and the good folks who moved ripped of most of the siding before they left.
This building needs to be condemned but instead, the bank put up signs, low income, no income, call........
She took pictures and went to the town hall. The guy there, (I will leave out names) is a master at double talk. I know, I've gone to a few town meetings and wow. He could run for president! Just a master at dancing around any issue with non answers then moving on.
So she shows him the photos. He said "I don't have a phone to call." She showed him a picture of these two big signs nailed to the trees out front with the phone number. Shut him up fast. He said he'd ask the bank to clean it up. Yea well she's heard that before.
I swear to you, last year I pulled up and the neighbors had OPEN bags of really foul garbage just swarming with flies laying right out on the front lawn. And this town actually has a grass ordinance. SHE gets a notice if her grass is six inches long after a week of rain but no one sees all the garbage right next door?
My question is, legally, when going to the town hall gets you no where, what is the next step?
I told her right now she aught to send a letter asking for these things to be addressed in a "reasonable time frame" (which leaves lots of flexibility I know.) Include the photos and send this certified mail. But after that? Then what? She lives on SS so really no bathtubs of money to hire lawyers. But surely there is something that can be done. Seems the bank is perfectly willing to put anything they want into that dwelling no questions asked. It's not right.
If this were a landlord tenant thing, I know how to look that up myself. Been there done that. But when the building in question is up for sale, and in such a state, what can a neighbor do to get this either cleaned up or torn down? Either way? I have no idea what to look up for that.
I might need to mention, she is pretty sure this is a HUD house. And the town hall guy said the inside is "none of his business." Yea well... when she bought her giant victorian right next door, they inspected and insisted she rewire, and replace a perfectly good water heater. So they do inspect. Again he's full of it.

