DALLAS — It’s a house that first made news when the owner, a hoarder, died in his home and had to be found by cadaver dogs under the debris.
Now the house, a blight on the neighborhood, is making news again. Dallas officials says it’s the first city in the country to use probate court to force the sale of a blighted home.
In March, in order to find Skip Bynum’s body, the city of Dallas spent $26,000 removing mountains of debris from his M Streets home.
The medical examiner says Bynum’s death was an accident, something probably fell on him as result of his hoarding. Now, the neighbors want the city to demolish the house, and that’s a problem.
“It is not sufficiently dilapidated such that it poses an immediate danger to health and public safety, which would allow us to seek demolition,” said Chris Bowers, the first assistant city attorney for Dallas.
That means the city would need to wait for the property to get worse before razing it. So, Assistant City Attorney Chris Bowers and his staff had an idea: What if they sued the dead man’s estate in probate court?
“This is the first time we have ever filed a suit like this and I’m not aware that any other governmental agency that’s ever done that,” Bowers said.
Here’s how it works.
“Here, we expect that whoever buys this property, that they will likely want to demolish it at their expense and that will happen more quickly than if we just waited for the property to become dilapidated,” Bowers said.
The city hopes to use this technique in other parts of Dallas to fight blight faster and cheaper. If it works, Bowers thinks every city in America might be tempted to copy it.
Attribution:
Dallas to force sale of hoarder house and other blighted homes
David Schechter
September 12, 2014
WFAA.com
http://www.wfaa.com/story/news/local/dallas-county/2014/09/12/dallas-force-sale-blight-home-hoarder/15538733/
Now the house, a blight on the neighborhood, is making news again. Dallas officials says it’s the first city in the country to use probate court to force the sale of a blighted home.
In March, in order to find Skip Bynum’s body, the city of Dallas spent $26,000 removing mountains of debris from his M Streets home.
The medical examiner says Bynum’s death was an accident, something probably fell on him as result of his hoarding. Now, the neighbors want the city to demolish the house, and that’s a problem.
“It is not sufficiently dilapidated such that it poses an immediate danger to health and public safety, which would allow us to seek demolition,” said Chris Bowers, the first assistant city attorney for Dallas.
That means the city would need to wait for the property to get worse before razing it. So, Assistant City Attorney Chris Bowers and his staff had an idea: What if they sued the dead man’s estate in probate court?
“This is the first time we have ever filed a suit like this and I’m not aware that any other governmental agency that’s ever done that,” Bowers said.
Here’s how it works.
- Bynum has no known heirs.
- His estate owes the city, not only the $26,000 for debris removal, but also back taxes and unpaid water bills. So, the city is a creditor.
- In a lawsuit, the court will appoint an administrator who will likely sell the property in order to preserve as much value if Bynum’s heirs are ever found.
The city hopes to use this technique in other parts of Dallas to fight blight faster and cheaper. If it works, Bowers thinks every city in America might be tempted to copy it.
Attribution:
Dallas to force sale of hoarder house and other blighted homes
David Schechter
September 12, 2014
WFAA.com
http://www.wfaa.com/story/news/local/dallas-county/2014/09/12/dallas-force-sale-blight-home-hoarder/15538733/
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