A Clearwater home is on schedule to be demolished this summer, according to county officials, but some neighbors say they’ll have to see it to believe it.
Leslie Hanson is just one of the residents who's been trying to get the county to do something about the home on Alton Drive for almost as long as she's lived there- 20 years.
County documents show the home belonged to Bobbie Hancock, who died a couple years ago and whose name may sound familar.
In 2012, authorities discovered an elderly woman’s remains in a Clearwater storage unit. Turns out, Hancock had put her mother there until the family could afford to bury her.
Hancock was also the subject of a Pinellas County court order to clean up the home in 2010.
According to county officials, the first code violation the house had was in 1999 and it's been downhill ever since then. It was deemed uninhabitable just a few years ago.
Although no one lives there, the property is still a big problem for residents. A group of them said they've been speaking out for years.
“They come with hazmat suits on. Every time they come. The county comes in with that? County comes, full hazmat gear,” said Thomas Hanson. “It's kinda scary.”
“Who would be responsible if some kid went in there and got seriously injured? Who would take the responsibility? There would be a lawsuit, but who's responsible?” said Jerry Berglund.
Even though the home is on schedule to be demolished this summer, Hanson said she’ll have to see it to believe it.
“I wanna see it. I doubt it. I doubt it. I doubt it,” she said.