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Lincoln man says neighbor’s house has been empty for a decade
News Update

Lincoln man says neighbor’s house has been empty for a decade

LINCOLN, Nebraska (KLKN) – Bobby Beltran has lived in the Woods Park neighborhood for 12 years.

And ten of them, he said, lived next to a vacant, abandoned property.

“There is total water damage,” he said. “You can see from the inside straight out; you can see the vines from the outside in all the way to the back.”

The house has holes in the roof and weeds are growing all around the property.

“I don’t think it’s fair to someone who pays as much tax as we do in Lincoln or Lancaster to have to live next to an abandoned house that poses a health and safety hazard,” Beltran said.

His biggest concern is that the doors are left open. He has seen animals sneak in and fears squatters will do the same.

“I think it’s irresponsible and unneighborly not to take care of the property,” he said. “If you own it, you should be able to take care of it. If you can’t take care of it, you should sell it.”

Beltran said he has called the city inspector and the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services multiple times.

“The health department said it was a city problem, and the city said it was a health department problem. So both are stalling us,” he said.

Beltran said he has been writing bi-weekly reports on the property for several months and plans to “keep pestering them” until something is done.

“That way they can’t say, ‘Oh, we never knew about it,'” he said.

Nebraska DHHS said it has no authority to regulate or expropriate abandoned residential properties. That is a city matter, the agency said.

Channel 8 reached out to the city’s Department of Building and Safety but received no response.

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