SOUTH NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A South Nashville neighborhood has been dealing with a deteriorating, essentially abandoned home for more than two decades, and neighbors say years of complaints and court appearances have done little to fix the problem.
The house on Southwood Drive has overgrown grass, holes in the windows and roof, and downed tree branches. Neighbors have called police about squatters. The owner is older, lives out of state, and no longer maintains the property.
Todd Faulkner's backyard backs up to the property.
"These trees that are down over here, these branches, those have been down for at least two years," Faulkner said.
He described the home's condition in detail.
"The gutters are all down, the fascia's been pulled down, there's holes in the roof that go into the attic, it's just... I'm afraid it's beyond redemption," Faulkner said.
Every summer, grass and weeds grow taller than 12 inches, prompting calls to Metro Codes. Neighbors have filed 15 complaints against the property in just the last 4 years alone. Court records show the problem goes back even further — to a tall grass violation in 2004.
"We've just had to do it over and over and over again," Faulkner said.
The property has been taken to Environmental Court, where a judge can impose fines and place liens on the property. But Faulkner says the cycle never ends.
"They drag the guy into environmental court, he goes in there, they basically tell him he's got so many days to mow it, he sends somebody out here, they mow it, and then Metro Codes comes by it and says, 'Yep the yard's been mowed' and closes the file," Faulkner said.
Feeling ignored and exhausted, Faulkner's family reached out for help.
"We've tried to get along as long as we can. We've tried to go through Codes, which is what Metro keeps telling us to do. And none of that is working. That's why I contacted you guys. Because we've got to do something," Faulkner said.
Metro Codes cannot force the sale of a property. However, the department could declare the home unsafe to live in, which could require it to be repaired or even demolished. The property owner is already on Metro Codes' repeat offender list, which could help move that process forward.
NewsChannel 5 left a message with the property owner's family and has not gotten a call back.
Faulkner believes the situation is only getting more dangerous.
"Somebody is going to get hurt," Faulkner said. "This place clearly needs to be condemned. It's clearly a nuisance."
Do you have a story like this one? If you're dealing with a problem in your community, reach out to me at hannah.mcdonald@newschannel5.com.
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