SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — A San Diego neighborhood is finally seeing some relief after a home that's raised concerns for months is finally under the control of a court-appointed receiver.
The home on K Street is visibly destroyed.
The home's roof is charred, and there is trash everywhere from squatters who have occupied the property for months.
Monday morning, an inspector came through to assess what's left of the property.
It was declared a public nuisance on April 19.
Now, something is being done to ease the neighborhood's concerns.
"I'm going to need you to leave the building ok," said Jamie Everhardt.
An initial assessment of the property was done on the property by the new receiver Richardson Griswold.
"We're here to take a look at the damage, determine the condition of the property, and what our next steps are going to be," she explained.
Jamie Everhardt works for the firm and says that based on what she's seen so far in pictures, the damage is immense.
It could go one of two ways: the firm can rehabilitate it or demolish it.
"If it ends up being determined that the property needs to be demolished, then I would guess that process should be done within the next three to four months," she said.
Court documents obtained by Richardson Griswold show the issues at the property began back in November 2021 when the city of San Diego issued a notice and order to vacate and repair the building.
The issues continued with multiple fires.
The city attorney's office says at least 10 fires were sparked at the home in a year.
ABC 10news was on the scene for two fires within days of each other in October.
At the time, firefighters deemed the home a total loss.
Police ended up arresting John Ely in connection to those fires.
He is still behind bars.
The property receiver said it plans to keep squatters out by first informing them of the new receivership.
"We'll be securing the property to prevent any further unauthorized access, and then we'll be doing periodic status inspections to make sure the property remains secure," she said.
ABC 10News reached out to multiple phone numbers connected to the homeowner, but we were unsuccessful in reaching the property owner.
The owner is expected to appear in court on May 26.
