Sick Abandoned Homes Overrun by Rodents and More

Vacant and abandoned homes is the topic for today. Don't let that picture fool you come see for yourself those light spots in the roof are large leaks. I recently moved from up north to Florida and into my sister’s home with my eighty-nine year old mother and my nineteen year old daughter until we find a home of our own. The problem is the home next to my sisters in Venice Florida has been vacant for approximately two years now. The house address is 1093 N. Cypress Point Drive. Venice Florida 34293. The property is owned by the Rushmore Bank phone number 877-380-3499 and the reality company listing this property is Sun Reality the phone number is 941-922-4048. The house needs to be torn down the bank refuses to do anything about this home.The house has an screened in pool with stagnant water since the home was left abandoned a little over two years ago and thousands of mosquitos swarming and reproducing as well as tadpoles that are turning into toads now and hopping all over.The screen itself is literally falling apart and parts ripped down and not from the hurricane. The house itself is riddled with fleas from the fruit rats that now reside in the house along with cockroaches that have now made their way into my sister’s home. We sit up nights killing the cockroaches and swatting a few fleas that have made their way into her home. Nobody cares about our health or the health of the neighbors either.

My sister has sister lives in a Deed Restricted Area and has called called the association for where she lives along with the board of health and various other organizations and her calls have fallen on deaf ears. This is an environmental problem now and we have called the environmental protection agency as well and have gotten nowhere. My mother is now coughing as well as my sister day and night. My daughter and I have allergies to dust dirt and mold. We are suffering as well. I wake up every day with a swollen face and have vomited more than once from severe headaches from the smells that are now blowing into my sister’s home.

We know their are rats as they are running across my sisters lawn front and back. They are very large. People who have come to take a peek at the house are shocked and run away saying that is a sick house and needs to be gutted or torn down. People have gone inside to look at what they might get for their $170,000 should they buy the house and are appalled some have even been bitten by the mites and fleas from the fruit rats they have seen. Their are dead mice laying in the house, The walls are chewed through in areas and the kitchen and bathrooms are a disaster. The smell is terrible and will get much worse as the weather gets warmer and we will all get sicker. There are rat droppings everywhere in the home; food on the floor ;the fridge has food still in it with maggots.

This is not a home where you can come in and bring a dumpster and start gutting it and throw crap outside and leave it sit. The rodents and other creatures will make their way around all the homes in the area and start to destroy peoples homes and property. This is a nightmare and my sister is not the only person living next to a home like this. Governor Scott why don't you get off your rear-end and take a look at the sick and deteriorating homes in your state and take care of the nursing homes as well? More people are getting sick from the filth they live next-door to and who is paying their bills when Florida has the worst health care system in the country? Time to stand up Governor and fight for the people in your state who elected you.

Why has nobody done anything and how many other people out their are living next to homes like this and nothing is being done about this? I really would like people to weigh in on this issue. I know there are many more houses out there like this I have seen them. How many innocent neighbors have to live like we are? Who is going to pay for our homes and yards to be sprayed, tented and bombed for rats, mice, cockroaches and more? We should not have to pay for this. Our towns and cities should take care of this problem and fines should be handed out and demolition should be the next step in some cases.

I went into the home with my sister when we seen the second rat scaling the roof and then disappearing into the eaves. My sister said, “Oh boy we better go see what we are dealing with because I have to know how to protect my own home and call someone. Yes, we entered the home through an open garage door and what we found was what I described only worse.

I find it funny that the home was originally up for $250,000 then dropped to $189,9000 and now to $170,000 nobody in their right mind would buy that house for that much. The listing reads…

Short Sale / Third Party Approval Required. CLOSE QUICK JUST REDUCED BANK APPROVED PRICE $170K This 2 bedroom 2 bath home with pool needs a little polishing up to make it a diamond. Buyer will be responsible for negotiation fee $1000. Cute home great for first time home buyer / investor for rental / or snow bird for 6 month getaway.

In no way shape or form is this house great for a first time home buyer/ investor for rental/ or snowbird for 6 month get away. The house needs to be fumigated and much more. We thought we might like to buy it until we entered it then we saw how much work it needs and how sick the house is inside. The house needs a new roof, a new screen over the pool and the pool needs to be cleaned and probably more the whole house needs to be gutted and fumigated. There is still furniture and food and clothing in the home as well as all the live and dead rodents so they need to tent this damn thing and do what needs to done properly as well as pay for the neighbors yards to be sprayed for fleas and to clean up the inside of the neighbors homes from the cockroaches and fleas that have all come from that house. Time to band together and stand up for our rights. It is high time the banks ,property owners, and realities take responsibility for what they own and clean up their garbage. These homes reduce the value of our homes so stand up for your rights and fight!

Once again please weigh in on homes like this in your areas so maybe something can be done and we don't all have to continue to get sick from uncaring banks, realities, and property owners who walk away and ignore the problem.