Vacant House Update

This is an update on one of the vacant houses that I talked about in an early post.

I went back there the other day to take a look at it again. I found that the front door had been boarded up. The following signs had been placed on the door.
 

The signs come from the DCRA's Abatement Team. That's the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs run by the DC government. The form says that the building is open and accessible and presents a danger. So the front and rear basement doors were boarded up. I had no idea there was a rear basement door. I tried to find it but was not successful.

The form also states who agent/owner of the property is and their address. So everyone in the neighborhood can take a look at the form and know who is responsible for this. This house was in the process of being renovated. There were several building permits on the windows but they were several months old. I have a feeling whoever was doing the renovation had run out of money.

Here's a little more on the abatement process from DCRA:

How long is the Abatement process?

DCRA’s abatement process begins by scheduling an initial inspection and the posting of a notice of violation on the property. The property owner is provided 7 days to abate. The property will be re-inspected 10 business days after the abatement period expires. If the property has not been abated by the owner, DCRA will attempt to locate the property owner and issue a Notice of Infraction fine. DCRA’s Abatement team (the “A” Team) will schedule the property for abatement. Abatement typically occurs within the next 15 business days. If DCRA abates the property, a lien will be placed on the property for the cost of the abatement.