Maybe you inherited a ruined property or a house that wasn’t built up to code and it got condemned. Or you began remodeling at your property but the remodelers didn’t have the right permits and an inspection showed up. What can you do with a condemned house?
When we were kids, dilapidated and boarded up houses in an otherwise normal neighborhood seemed eerily similar to the haunted houses from horror movies and old stories. What could have happened in those houses to be abandoned to that crumbling state of disrepair?
Nowadays, you know what happened: in all probability the property got condemned by the government. But you might still wonder, how does a house get condemned exactly? And what does that mean?
A condemned house or property means that no one is allowed to live inside the property until the proper permits are obtained. This can happen due to a number of reasons, but mainly is because the government has deemed that the property is unsafe for habitation or is not up to local codes and regulations.
Sometimes an inspection finds that the proper permits for construction weren’t obtained, or that there are certain hazardous conditions in the building that aren’t being actively addressed. A house can be condemned as well when the government needs to expand streets or make space for a public building.
The possible reasons behind a house condemnation
There can be many reasons behind a house getting condemned by the government, but usually, those are some of the following:
- Presence of hazardous or unsanitary materials.
- Detected major infrastructure failures (due to natural catastrophes, misuse or bad construction work).
- Damage or risks associated with other natural agents like black mold or termites.
- Other sanitation hazards like a damaged or misplaced waste disposal system.
- Lack of proper permits during remodeling or construction.
- The building is not up to local code and failed an inspection.
- The property has been abandoned or boarded up for 60 days or more (depending on your state and local regulations).
Other reasons might include making space for a new government or public buildings or expanding streets. This is called eminent domain, and in these cases, the house can be directly seized by the government even when there are no known violations. However, usually the owner is compensated for the loss of their property at current market value.
When talking about condemned houses, every minute counts. Maybe you inherited an already condemned property, or your real estate has suffered major damage from a natural catastrophe.
And maybe you aren’t willing to pay for all the expensive repairs and just want to get rid of the problem and cash in.
At Construct, we believe in improving communities by making fair deals for everyone. Contact us and we can get you an honest cash offer based on the expected market value of your real estate after a full renovation, discounting renovation time and costs.
So, what happens when a house is condemned?
Among other things, like boarding it up, the local government will probably shut off all utility services to the house to avoid any further use of the property. What a condemnation of property really means is that the government has officially seized your property and won’t necessarily let you take it back.
But unless the government has other plans for your property, there are usually some guidelines that can be followed so the house can be used again or construction at the property can be continued. In any case, you should be on top of the problem and come up with a repair plan to present to your local authorities. They might accept your proposal even if the house is in need of heavy maintenance.
Depending on the regulations of the county or city where your property is located, this might also require going to a lot of hearings, obtaining a number of permits and attending special meetings for developers in order to get the green light. But maybe you are not up to this amount of work and rather just sell your house before the situation gets any worse.
Remember that condemned houses tend to attract squatters, trespassers and vandals, and any of these could be a huge problem that you will need to address before being able to do anything about your property. Anyway, you should be highly proactive about the prospect of condemned property to avoid further liabilities and negative effects to the market value of your home.
Can I do anything at all with a condemned house?
Well, we have already established that you can’t live in a condemned house, but you might be able to do something about it after all. At Construct we specialize in buying houses that no one else might want. Your property is condemned or in dire need of repairs? Need to sell before foreclosure?
We work individually with each homeowner to help them with their unique situation. And don’t worry about not getting the deserved value from your property, we firmly believe in making honest and fair deals for everyone. So, if you are the owner of a condemned house, don’t waste any more time.
