SAN DIEGO -- The dead lawn is the first sign that the home on Cedarcrest Way in Sorrento Valley stands out.

"It's been an eyesore to look at, quite frankly," explained Debbie Jayroe, who lives next door.

The home sits in the cul de sac of an area with carefully maintained houses and landscaped front yards. The palm trees and plants around it are dying, the utilities are shut off and it's vacant.

The family that had lived there moved out a few months ago, according to neighbors. Public records show that it's owned by Nick Lashchuk, a 30-year-old from Russia who paid $885,000 for the home with no money down and it was 100 percent financing.

Jayroe said the family was different.

"The children were out playing with flashlights at 2 o'clock in the morning, with flashlights strapped to their head," she said.

Lashchuk told neighbors he was in construction and worked on the home.

"He appeared to be installing a second-floor balcony," Jayroe told the 10News I-Team.

Public records revealed Lashchuk had not paid his mortgage in months, and he owed $44,000 in back payments.

When the family left in July, Jaroe said, a strange new crew of men moved in.

"It was 24/7 parties and loud," Jayroe said.

Neighbors felt uneasy about the men, who said they rented the home from Lashchuk for $2,000 a month.

"People my mother would refer to as shady," explained Jaroe.

After neighbors called the police 15 times in three weeks and complained about the house, the renters left.

With the house empty and the mortgage not being paid, Lashchuk was on track to default. The I-Team learned he tried to squeeze $130,000 out of the home, and it has to do with the balcony that Jayroe saw Lashchuk installing. A company called Alfa Construction slapped a $130,000 lien on the home for non-payment for the balcony work.

The I-Team learned that Alfa Construction is also owned by Vladimir Lashchuk, who may be a brother, uncle or alias.

Neighbor Dan Larson said, "I think what bothers me is our neighbor stands to profit from the foreclosure of his own home."

Vladimir and Nick Lashchuk share the same Social Security number issued in the U.S. in 1998, according to public records. They appear to have emigrated from Russia, settling first in Sacramento and then San Diego.

The I-Team paid a visit to Alfa Construction offices in La Jolla and found it is really a residential condo development. It, too, was vacant. Neighbors said someone named Lashchuk lived at the condo, but the family broke the lease and disappeared.

The I-Team notified the lender, Bank of America, about the lien and the connection between the homeowner and the construction company.

Experts said the lien complicates the sale of the home, as even in a short sale, where it's sold for less than the mortgage amount, Lashchuk could profit from the lien.

That complication makes it more likely that the house will be foreclosed and sold at a discount at a trustee's sale on the court house steps, meaning neighbors will pay as their home values drop, too.