No one lives here, to neighbors' chagrin

The vacant house on Asbury Street in Falcon Heights stands in sharp contrast to the well-kept homes in the rest of the neighborhood. A snowdrift blocks the front door. The gutters have been stripped away. An unused hot tub sits in the back yard, and a piece of plywood appears to cover a hole in the roof.

No one has lived there for at least five years, but it's not in foreclosure. The owner simply walked away in the middle of a remodeling job. Neighbors are bewildered and frustrated. Some worry the eyesore is scaring off potential home buyers.

"It's in limbo," said Kate Elhardt, who lives across the street. "When will it ever end? It could stand there another 15 years."

City leaders in Falcon Heights are also concerned about the plight of 1864 Asbury St. Mayor Peter Lindstrom said the city has sent three letters to the owner since 2008 but hasn't heard back from him. Owner Benjamin Eskin has mowed the lawn or covered up graffiti when the city has asked, city officials said.

"We will be watching this property extremely closely, especially as the snow melts," Lindstrom said. "I don't understand why for years this person would hold onto this property and just not do anything."

Eskin did not respond to Whistleblower's calls for comment. County records show that he is up to date on his property taxes and assessments, which were $3,140 for 2009. Eskin bought the house for $155,000 in 1999, with a mortgage of $120,000, according to Ramsey County records.

While it's not unusual to see vacant homes dotting neighborhoods across the metro, they're often tied up in foreclosure proceedings. The standstill in Falcon Heights is an example of the limitations that cities and residents face when a homeowner simply refuses to cooperate as their property falls into disrepair.

"Government has to be careful when it goes in and messes around with private property," Bach said.

Residents still question whether the city is doing everything it can. So far, Eskin has not been ticketed for code violations or billed for work done at his property by city employees. Several neighbors said they want Eskin to be prosecuted for violating an ordinance that requires all structures to be "reasonably maintained and kept in a good state of repair so as to avoid health or safety hazards and prevent a degradation in the value of adjacent property."

"I think they could pressure this guy," neighbor Bill Duddleston said. "If I left a junker car in front of my house, do you think they would tolerate it? No."

Neighbors said they were excited when Eskin started renovating his property about six years ago. He gutted the house, removing walls, stairs and a fireplace, according to neighbors. Soon, they noticed that Eskin wasn't coming around as often. Then he just quit showing up.

John Woitas bought the house next door in 2006 and spent more than $100,000 to remodel it. But when he tried selling it a few years ago, he struck out. Potential buyers told him the abandoned house was so "creepy" they wouldn't make an offer.

"I know you can't make anybody live there, but you have to be able to look out for the rights of the people who live in the area," Woitas said.

In May and June 2008, Falcon Heights Zoning and Planning Director Deborah Jones sent letters to Eskin warning him of several code violations -- boarded windows, graffiti on the garage door and materials stored in the back yard.

"Your continued neglect of this property has attracted the attention of vandals, putting your own investment at risk and creating a negative impact on property values in the surrounding neighborhood," the letter said. "Without some early indication of steps being taken to correct these violations and to improve the condition of this property, the city will turn this matter over to the City Attorney for prosecution."

In May 2010, Jones sent another letter citing some of the same violations and a new one -- a hot tub in the back yard that had partially filled with water and posed "a serious risk to public safety."

City Administrator Justin Miller said Eskin has not been ticketed because he's addressed the code violations. He said city staff emptied the hot tub so that mosquitoes wouldn't breed there, but the cost of that work wasn't charged to Eskin.

"If it's been a year since they tried to reach him, that's too long," Elhardt said.