JACKSONVILLE, Fla — When a house is vacant for a long time, there is a very good probability it will eventually become the neighborhood eyesore.
The residents of Isle of Palms South are now learning the truth of that reality and they are fed up with the house next door.
"For at least the last 10 years it has been vacant," Jackie Wells said.
At an "I'm telling Ken" session at Jacksonville Beach Brunch Haus, Wells, who lives next door to the abandoned house, complained about the issue.
"We do not have an active Home Owners Association and we don't know what to do," she said.
Gail Scarborough lives in the same community and believes the house has become an attraction to vandals.
"We are just exhausted," Scarborough said. "We don't know what to do."
The residents say they have filed repeated complaints with the city and have yet to get a resolution.
"The house is now infested with rats and the city knows it," Wells said.
They say they've even reached out to the Jacksonville Sheriff's office because the property has been vandalized several times.
"The police have been out countless times," she said, "still nothing."
Wells and Scarborough and their other neighbors would like to know what's being done if anything.
How long will this abandoned house remain in its current condition?
Is the city going to enforce the municipal code on property nuisance?
"It is very frustrating, especially because there are many that drive by it every day," Wells said. "I live next door. It has been so long, it is ridiculous."
Here is what we now know -- there are two active enforcement cases on the property -- and a rolling fine of $250 a day since March 2017. There are also a number of liens filed.
What's next? We couldn't get an answer as we were told the Chief of the Municipal Code Enforcement Division was unavailable.
On Your Side will keep trying. In the meantime, we contacted another city official who said the way the law is written, unless there is an imminent danger, getting rid of abandoned homes is difficult.