Ripon Neighbors Blame Bank For Blighted Home In Community

RIPON (CBS13) -- A group of neighbors are blaming the bank for a blighted home in their community. The problem is the bank's property records show the home doesn't even exist.

Despite the home's grand size and glaring blight, the home is essentially lost in real estate databases, thanks to an unusual snafu.

"Basically, the physical address does not match the address that is listed in the county data base," says Mark McDonough.

McDonough has been trying to the home cleaned up for ages now.

"It's ridiculous and it's reached a point, it needs to stop," says McDonough.

Researching public records, McDonough says he found the current lender, Bank of America.

"A gentleman at Bank of America, after I gave him the parcel number he did confirm that they own the property, but he could not find the file," said McDonough.

Neighbors believe the problem started when the home was built.  The developer of this corner lot put the front door on the wrong street, and it somehow got approved.

"I Google it, Google Maps comes up as 605 Boesch," explains McDonough.

Boesch Drive is around the corner; A simple misunderstanding which turned into years of neglect.

When CBS13 called Bank of America they issued this statement:

"Thank you for bringing this property to our attention. If we confirm that we service the loan and that property is vacant, we will take steps to have any maintenance issues addressed."

McDonough says he has spent thousands of dollars over the years trimming the weeds on the house.  He says he may hire a lawyer next, if the house remains unattended.