HOUSTON – One Willow Meadows home is giving a neighbor headaches after months of dealing with a home she says has sat untouched after Harvey.
The city is now taking action.
"There's fish, there's rats, there's snakes and they're all coming to my yard," said Gayla Kirshner.
After gutting her home during the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, Kirshner didn't think things could get any worse. However, while the neighborhood on Cheena Drive changed with people rebuilding, the home next to her, she said, just stayed the same.
"I don't want to live next to a house that looks completely abandoned," Kirshner said.
What she thought was her next door neighbor's problem had turned into her own. The conditions next door made Kirshner's skin crawl.
"At night, you hear every animal you could possibly think of," Kirshner said.
She took pictures and complained to the Houston Department of Neighborhoods multiple times. Department officials said they sent a notice on May 14 and had set a deadline of May 24 to have the issues fixed. The notice cited several code violations for stagnant water, unsecured entryway, and debris.
"There's a meat plug in there that's not been plugged in-- and it smells," Kirshner said. "There's mold on the carpet which was outside. Their pool is 50 shades of different chemicals."
There were also other things she wasn't used to seeing.
"There's a big crane there that hangs out because he's got an endless supply of fish, loads of frogs and now there are these new insects that have come out of the woodwork -- I just have no idea -- and then there's mushrooms -- The list goes on," Kirshner said.
Kirshner said the home had been sold to an investor.
"I haven't heard from them, I haven't seen them," Kirshner said.
She said she is tired of waiting.
KPRC reached out to the contracting company associated with the new ownership. The contracting company said the home was closed on a week ago. The contractor has ordered yard work and said the pool will be worked on in a couple weeks.
"Get it done. Get it done and get it handled," Kirshner said.
Department officials said with nuisance homes, the city will issue a first notice, then schedule a time to check to see if changes have been made. If nothing has been done, they issue a second notice or citation. Once the citation is issued, then officials start to work on the process of having the property up for abatement and a lien is placed on the property, according to Department of Neighborhoods officials.
After KPRC's inquiries, the department sent out an inspector to the home, something officials said they were scheduled to do in June, but never did it. Officials said they are assessing who owns the home, since it may take up to three months to update Harris County records on home ownership changes, according to Department of Neighborhoods officials.
Neighbors complained that several homes on the block also had similar issues with untouched homes after Harvey and other flood occurrences.
Complaints can be made to the Department of Neighborhoods at (832) 393-0955.