Even though the owner of a house in Pistakee Highlands near Johnsburg is keeping up with his mortgage payments and owes no property taxes, McHenry County is about to tear down his house.
Owner David Johnson, whose whereabouts are unknown, abandoned the house at 5201 Woodrow Ave. more than six years ago, leaving behind furniture, appliances and other belongings, county officials said.
With the passage of time and lack of maintenance, the house has become unsafe and a potential hazard to the neighborhood, said McHenry County Assistant State’s Atty. Robin Perry. She secured a court order last week from Judge James Franz to have the house torn down.
But she failed to win Franz’s approval to have First Nationwide Mortgage Co., which holds the mortgage on the house, pay for the demolition. Perry said the county will place a lien on the property to recover those costs.
“I can’t explain why someone would just walk away from a house and continue making the payments on it,” Perry said.
The small frame ranch house has a market value of about $54,000, Perry said.
The roof has a large hole, which has caused extensive water damage inside, Perry said. The house is a haven for raccoons and opossums, officials said.
In Franz’s courtroom last week, structural engineer Ernie Varga testified that repairs would cost more than half the house’s value. He said the home is structurally unsound and a danger to anyone who might venture inside.
The county began trying six years ago to serve Johnson with building code complaints, said Building Code Enforcement Officer Sue Ehardt.
For the last three years, the matter has been in court, with the county trying to serve Johnson with legal papers requiring him to fix up the house or tear it down. But the county has been unable to find him.
Perry said the checks that Johnson uses to make his mortgage payments have no address on them. Instead, they list a Lake Forest post office box.
The county recently had a Cook County address for Johnson but learned he has since moved, once again foiling their attempts to serve him with legal papers.
Robert Rappe, a Naperville attorney representing First Nationwide Mortgage Co., declined to comment on the case.
The county expects to have demolition bids in a few weeks, and razing could begin shortly after a contract is approved.
