Home Ordered Demolished, Two Others To Undergo Repairs
February 22, 2017 at 7:29 p.m.
By David Slone-dslone@timesuniononline.com
Ralph and Joellen Fitch, of Larwill, had two properties before Clifford Tuesday – a home at 502 W. Winona Ave. and a garage behind 832 E. Market St., where a house at that address has already been demolished.
Despite repeated attempts by Warsaw Code Enforcement to serve notice to the Fitches, Building Commissioner Ray Behling said they’ve heard nothing in return, and the Fitches did not attend Tuesday’s hearing.
A fire at the house on Oct. 10 caused damage but repairs have still not been made. Behling said the second-floor fire was “pretty severe” and water damaged the first floor.
The house is not occupied, but is secure, he said.
The longer the house sits there without repairs, the more dilapidated it becomes, Behling said. He estimated cost of repairs could be $60,000 while demolition would be $6,000.
Because the property is unsafe and repair costs exceed demolition, Clifford ordered the Winona Avenue property demolished, salvage removed and an inspection passed with costs charged to the respondents, the Fitches.
The hearing on the garage behind 832 E. Market St. was then held, with Behling estimating the cost of repairs to be $35,000 and demolition to be about $4,500. Clifford ordered it be demolished.
Faviola Duran, of 138 N. Tepee Drive, Warsaw, owns the property at 519 N. Park Ave. The city Tuesday was seeking to have it demolished.
Duran said it has been vacant for more than a year. She had planned to remodel it and then reside there.
Clifford reminded her that the city sent her a letter explaining the need to bring it up to code after she bought it in October of 2015. Duran said some electrical work was done and planned to work on the foundation once she had the money and the weather was better. She said she got an estimate of $3,000 for the foundation work, and paid $14,000 for the home. She hoped to have it repaired by sometime in 2018.
Code violations include a collapsing roof, a dilapidated porch and floor and other interior issues. Duran said she believes the cost to repair would be about $14,000 to $15,000, but said she did not have a firm estimate yet.
Behling estimated repairs would cost $25,000 to $30,000.
Clifford issued a nine-month extension to complete the work.
He advised her to return to the code enforcement hearing at 1:30 p.m. May 15 to provide an update. Failure to comply could still result in demolition and civil penalties against her.
Clifford gave another 60 days for work to be completed at 504 E. Fort Wayne St. The property is owned by Hugo and Sarah Pedrozo, Austin, Texas.
Gene Frye has been the property manager for three weeks. He and attorney Isaiah Vanderpool were at the meeting on the Pedrozo’s behalf.
Behling said the property has been fully inspected, but very little work occurred until the last two weeks. Since then, the work has progressed.
Evidence of a fire was found in the attic.
Clifford imposed a civil penalty against the property for $2,500 but postponed that to April 21. The penalty will be set aside if the house passes an inspection.
In a years-long case, Brian Tekulve, attorney representing the mortgage company Deutsche Bank, said a court hearing for summary judgment on a home at 330 Ringneck Trail was set for April 20 now that Kyle Babcock has hired legal representation.
Babcock, a former Warsaw city councilman, had the home built more than 10 years ago, but it went into foreclosure in 2009 after problems with window wells, leaking water and mold became apparent. He and his family soon vacated the property due to the problems, and the property entered into litigation.
During an Oct. 17 hearing on the property, Clifford took demolition of the property off the books because substantial repairs had been made to the home. In another code hearing in December, representatives for the bank said there continued to be problems with mold in the house.
At Tuesday’s hearing, Jeff Woken, regional field service manager at Altisource, Columbus, Ohio, said a professional remediation company did some air quality testing and “everything came back clean.” From his perspective, he said all the work needed for the home has been completed.
Behling said the city is reviewing the test results and a new inspection is being planned.
Clifford said unless there were still code violations the city wanted addressed, he would consider it “resolved.”
In another matter demolition was ordered for a garage at 1027 E. Market St., which owned by Charles Hartley.
The property has a $59,135.66 judgment against it and is scheduled to be part of a sheriff’s sale next week.
Clifford set a hearing on the matter for March 20 for the new owner and/or bank.
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Ralph and Joellen Fitch, of Larwill, had two properties before Clifford Tuesday – a home at 502 W. Winona Ave. and a garage behind 832 E. Market St., where a house at that address has already been demolished.
Despite repeated attempts by Warsaw Code Enforcement to serve notice to the Fitches, Building Commissioner Ray Behling said they’ve heard nothing in return, and the Fitches did not attend Tuesday’s hearing.
A fire at the house on Oct. 10 caused damage but repairs have still not been made. Behling said the second-floor fire was “pretty severe” and water damaged the first floor.
The house is not occupied, but is secure, he said.
The longer the house sits there without repairs, the more dilapidated it becomes, Behling said. He estimated cost of repairs could be $60,000 while demolition would be $6,000.
Because the property is unsafe and repair costs exceed demolition, Clifford ordered the Winona Avenue property demolished, salvage removed and an inspection passed with costs charged to the respondents, the Fitches.
The hearing on the garage behind 832 E. Market St. was then held, with Behling estimating the cost of repairs to be $35,000 and demolition to be about $4,500. Clifford ordered it be demolished.
Faviola Duran, of 138 N. Tepee Drive, Warsaw, owns the property at 519 N. Park Ave. The city Tuesday was seeking to have it demolished.
Duran said it has been vacant for more than a year. She had planned to remodel it and then reside there.
Clifford reminded her that the city sent her a letter explaining the need to bring it up to code after she bought it in October of 2015. Duran said some electrical work was done and planned to work on the foundation once she had the money and the weather was better. She said she got an estimate of $3,000 for the foundation work, and paid $14,000 for the home. She hoped to have it repaired by sometime in 2018.
Code violations include a collapsing roof, a dilapidated porch and floor and other interior issues. Duran said she believes the cost to repair would be about $14,000 to $15,000, but said she did not have a firm estimate yet.
Behling estimated repairs would cost $25,000 to $30,000.
Clifford issued a nine-month extension to complete the work.
He advised her to return to the code enforcement hearing at 1:30 p.m. May 15 to provide an update. Failure to comply could still result in demolition and civil penalties against her.
Clifford gave another 60 days for work to be completed at 504 E. Fort Wayne St. The property is owned by Hugo and Sarah Pedrozo, Austin, Texas.
Gene Frye has been the property manager for three weeks. He and attorney Isaiah Vanderpool were at the meeting on the Pedrozo’s behalf.
Behling said the property has been fully inspected, but very little work occurred until the last two weeks. Since then, the work has progressed.
Evidence of a fire was found in the attic.
Clifford imposed a civil penalty against the property for $2,500 but postponed that to April 21. The penalty will be set aside if the house passes an inspection.
In a years-long case, Brian Tekulve, attorney representing the mortgage company Deutsche Bank, said a court hearing for summary judgment on a home at 330 Ringneck Trail was set for April 20 now that Kyle Babcock has hired legal representation.
Babcock, a former Warsaw city councilman, had the home built more than 10 years ago, but it went into foreclosure in 2009 after problems with window wells, leaking water and mold became apparent. He and his family soon vacated the property due to the problems, and the property entered into litigation.
During an Oct. 17 hearing on the property, Clifford took demolition of the property off the books because substantial repairs had been made to the home. In another code hearing in December, representatives for the bank said there continued to be problems with mold in the house.
At Tuesday’s hearing, Jeff Woken, regional field service manager at Altisource, Columbus, Ohio, said a professional remediation company did some air quality testing and “everything came back clean.” From his perspective, he said all the work needed for the home has been completed.
Behling said the city is reviewing the test results and a new inspection is being planned.
Clifford said unless there were still code violations the city wanted addressed, he would consider it “resolved.”
In another matter demolition was ordered for a garage at 1027 E. Market St., which owned by Charles Hartley.
The property has a $59,135.66 judgment against it and is scheduled to be part of a sheriff’s sale next week.
Clifford set a hearing on the matter for March 20 for the new owner and/or bank.
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