Editor’s Note: This is the first of two parts on abandoned homes in The Villages.
“Livin’ the Dream” is a popular golf-cart bumper sticker in The Villages. But when the dream ends, wreckage sometimes is left behind in the form of abandoned homes that can be vacant for years.
Neighbors say these homes become overrun with mold, mildew and vines growing up the exterior walls, reducing their own property values.
They’ve complained to The Villages and gotten grass and weeds cut, but that doesn’t address the other problems. The homes often became ensnarled in legal process delays and foreclosures.
Here are three stories of abandoned homes in The Villages:
8437 Bartram Loop
Anne Hartwick tried to stay in her home at 8437 Bartram Loop in the Village of Piedmont after losing her husband, Ed.
She relied heavily on her neighbors to help with chores she was unable to do. Tony DeGeorge, a retired elementary school teacher who lives a couple doors away, stopped by every week to clean her cat’s litter box.
As she struggled, she became more reclusive, refusing to answer the door and leaving her phone filled to the limit with messages. Worried neighbors called the police to check on her.
After a second call to the police, Anne Hartwick was taken to the hospital. She wound up in an Ocala nursing home, where she stayed until her death at age 76 in August 2011.
The Hartwicks apparently had a reverse mortgage on their home.
“The house has been vacant since we came here in 2010,” said Joe Walker, who lives next door.
Since Anne Hartwick moved out, neighbors say the home has deteriorated with vines growing up the walls and over the roof. The lawn was the first thing to go after the water and electricity were shut off. Neighbors recently pulled off the vines and put two flags out front for Veterans Day.
Tony DeGeorge said his brother, a home remodeling specialist in Connecticut, once tried to buy the property, but couldn’t get anywhere with Wells Fargo Bank of Ocala, which owned it then. Wells Fargo spokeswoman Janey Kiryluik said the bank no longer has an interest in the property.
DeGeorge said The Villages makes sure the lawn, now entirely consisting of sparse weeds, is cut but doesn’t do anything about the other problems.
“You can get a citation if your grass isn’t cut, but a home can sit empty for years,” he said.
The vinyl-sided, 1,392-square-foot home, built in 2003, recently has been connected to the Champion Mortgage Co. of Spring, Texas, which offers reverse mortgages, according to Marion County property records. Representatives of Champion and Reverse Mortgage Solutions, an associated company, said they had no information about the home.
In an auction sale on Nov. 12, the home was sold to Champion Mortgage, the plaintiff in the foreclosure action, for $118,001 after a final judgment of $202,654. The assessed value was listed at $135,266.
1115 San Remo Lane
Janet Bartello said her husband, Richard, promised to remodel their kitchen, but not until something is done about the long-vacant home next door at 1115 San Remo Lane in the Village of Mira Mesa.
“My home is so depreciated,” she said, adding that mildew has been a problem in the house next door, which has been empty for seven years.
A notice in the front window says that the home was winterized in 2012 by a Texas company called the National Field Service, a division of America’s Infomart.
Janey Kiryluik, a spokeswoman for Wells Fargo Bank, said the bank may have an interest in that property.
“We do make every effort to make sure we maintain properties according to local standards,” she said.
The 910-square-foot home, built in 1991, once was occupied by William and Audrey Frazier, who came to The Villages from Baltimore, Md. Audrey E. Frazier, 87, still is listed as the owner with an address at 720 Lenox Ave., Apt. 24A, in New York City.
The home’s exterior looks better now, but Richard Bartello said weeds were waist-high during the summer and that Frazier has declared bankruptcy. He said The Villages has a $12,000 lien on the property for lawn maintenance.
1721 Pebble Beach Lane
Untrimmed bushes cover the front window of a vacant home at 1721 Pebble Beach Lane in the Village of Orange Blossom Gardens. Weeds have taken root in the gutters and black stains that neighbors suspect could be mold is around the foundation.
When it rains, small bits of insulation flow out of the gutters. Interior photos of the home show unfinished floors and water stains on the bathroom ceiling, which may indicate a leaking roof.
The good news for neighbors is that there is a contract pending on the property, according to real estate agent Sherona “Sherry” Dye of Grizzard Real Estate.
She said the home was a bank foreclosure, which added to the time that it sat empty. The asking price was $71,000. Dye said she had no information about the previous owners.
George and Donna Husick, who live next door, said a mother and son lived there before both passed away.
“At least something has happened with it and it’s gotten on the market,” George Husick said.
Lake County property records show Bank of America listed as the owner, c/o Champion Mortgage Co. of Spring, Texas. The escrow company is listed as Reverse Mortgage Solutions, a company associated with Champion, with a contact person of Sheila Sanders.
She could not be reached for comment and representatives of both companies said they had no information about the home.
About a block away at 1717 Myrtle Beach Drive, the Developer is building a new home on property where an older home was demolished.
That transaction apparently went more smoothly than the Pebble Beach home. A neighbor said Myrtle Beach home was vacant for only a short time after the last owner died 1 ½ years ago before it was razed.
Marv Balousek is a reporter for Villages-News.com