Although an abandoned, burned out manufactured home in Spout Springs, North Carolina has been declared a public nuisance, the stench, feral cats and cockroaches have plagued its neighbor, Jim Redgate, for five years. “The only change is every year more cockroaches crawl out of there, and more feral cats move in,” he says. After the fire, the owners moved, Chase Mortgage began collection attempts, the insurance company wrote a check to the owners but because they were in default, and the house had not been foreclosed on yet, the check could not be cashed. As fayobserver.com informs MHProNews, an envelope from Chase’s collection agency was placed on the charred porch to notify the occupants how to keep their home. At a foreclosure auction in June, 2013, no one wanted to buy the house so it returns to Chase’s responsibility. If lenders do not think a property will bring in enough money, they will leave it in legal limbo, and in some cases legal and municipal fees will pile up on the original owner. “I’d take a chain saw to the place myself, but I’ve been told I could be arrested for trespassing,” says Redgate.

(Photo credit: Cindy Burnham/fayobserver.com–Jim Redgate in front of burned out home,)