What seemed at first to be just a story about an eccentric gentleman selling a house has turned out to be a tale with nefarious layers of drugs, squatters, and "frequent yard sales." This 1920 Mediterranean in high-end Hancock Park looked a little rough when it came up for sale back in 2011 (way below the neighborhood average) and was being used as a boarding house. Oh, and it was also inhabited by an old guy who wanted to live there for the rest of his life, regardless of a sale, free of charge. Somehow it didn't sell with that condition and the Larchmont Chronicle reveals that, instead, the house and its surroundings degenerated into a complete dump. It was surrounded by an illegal and ugly chainlink fence and had so much furniture on the dirt in front of the house that it looked like an open-air swap meet.
The neighbors, whose complaints about the house apparently go back to 2005, protested that the occupants were engaged in drug dealing, that there were squatters on the premises, that the house was just a general shitbox bringing the whole street down. This sounds like a bunch of NIMBYs whining, but when LAPD helicopters hovered over the house for a full-on raid, during which multiple arrests were made, it became obvious that neighbors might have some legit beef.
A big part of the issue is that the owner died and three different parties went to battle for ownership rights. One of those parties, the caretaker, was legally living on the property but turned it into "a nuisance property," drawing the attention of the LAPD and its drug raiders.
Once the probate issue was settled, the house sold, reportedly to a neighbor, and now the police and the new owner are working to evict every single tenant, then, hopefully, get all that crap out of the yard.
· Residents seek actions to stop illegal activity in home on Highland Avenue [LC]
· Hancock Park Residents Upset with Mess on Highland Ave. [LB]
· Checking Back in on the Pre-Occupied Hancock Park House [Curbed LA]
· 1920s Mediterreanean in Hancock Park Priced to Sell--But With Creepy Strings Attached [Curbed LA]
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