In a recent letter, the agency informed Wilson that her policy will have to include higher surcharge rates because her home is so close to a vacant house that is in poor condition.
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Wilson said she has had to pay higher premiums for years because of the vacant home next door. Wilson says she has asked the city for years to tear down the blighted structure.
“Why should we have to be penalized for this house to be there?” she said.
Cassel Insurance said Wilson would be eligible for standard home coverage if the blight next door was removed.
After Wilson complained about the vacant property at Wednesday’s city commission meeting, Dayton officials confirmed that the house is on the demolition list.
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According to real estate records, the Montgomery County Land Bank took ownership of the home earlier this year.
Vacant homes drag down the property values of neighboring and nearby residences, and they often attract criminal activity, including drug use, arson, vandalism and metal theft.
Wilson said a squatter with mental illness issues for a while moved into the vacant home, and her fear was that he would start a fire because he smoked.
Wilson said she’s “very hopeful” that the home will be removed soon because of the safety risks it poses, by being so close, and the financial hardship it causes.
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She said she’s invested in replacing her home’s roof and redid the kitchen, and her investment is at risk.
“Our bedroom is right there” — very close to the side of the vacant home — “and if it catches on fire, we’re dead meat,” Wilson said.
The home at 257 Air Street has been vacant for a long time and formerly belonged to the children of a couple who used to live there, Wilson said.
Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley at the Wednesday meeting said the children should have taken care of the property and not allowed it to become such a problem.
“It’s not fair … now, they won’t take care of the property, so citizens’ tax dollars are going to demolish the property — that’s costing you money, that’s costing me money, the other commissioners and everybody who pays taxes,” Whaley said.
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