CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — There's a house at the corner of Yolanda and West Point, on the city's West Side, that is desperately in need of improvements.
The next door neighbors called the Troubleshooters, claiming that since last summer, because of the condition of the house on the corner, they're seeing rodents, possums. and other things they never experienced before.
While Kris 6 News photographer Manny Venegas was standing across the street getting video of the house, a man came out of the house and approached him.
"Why are y'all getting video of my house ?" he said. "You're invading my privacy."
According to the Nueces County Appraisal District website, 87-year-old Paulita Valdez owns the house. The man says she's his mother. The house is valued at a little more than $79,000, which is nearly $7,000 more than its assessed value in 2020 and 2021,according to the appraisal website information.
On Thursday, Feb. 16, three days after receiving a call on the city's 311 non-emergency number, a Code Enforcement officer showed up at the house.
"(There was) rats and mice coming from the property, so we sent a code officer out there to investigate the property,'" Mike Gutierrez, Code Enforcement Compliance Program manager said.
Before leaving the property, the officer issued a blue placard for the Valdez house, which gives the property owner, or the people living there, seven days to at least start cleaning it up.
Code Enforcement issues blue placards for complaints about littler and solid waste. Gutierrez also said an officer will revisit the property in seven days, which in this case, would be Friday, Feb. 24, for a reinspection. The people living here have to at least show that they're making an effort to start cleaning it up. If they are, they're given an extension to get the property to code.
Diane Castaneda and her husband have lived next door for years, but then suddenly last summer, "rats, mice, big possums, and other problems."
On Monday, Feb. 20, Code Enforcement officers issued an orange notice for the garage. It prohibits occupancy because it's deemed in substandard condition. If it is not addressed by the owner, they'll turn it over to the Building Standards Board, who will determine whether it needs to be demolished.
As far as the blue placard for litter and solid waste, if it appears no effort has been made to clean it up when Code returns on Feb. 24, the property owner will be fined, Gutierrez said.
"It's just a summons to appear in court. A judge will assess any fines, if the judge deems it necessary," he said.
The man in the red shirt didn't want to do an interview with us, but he did say he's trying to help his mother, and get the place cleaned up, but can't seem to find anybody who wants to help.
