A four-bedroom, three-and-a-half bath home with a swimming pool located on a major thoroughfare in Belhaven sits in disrepair.
Boards cover four front windows at 1825 Peachtree St., a red brick colonial-style house with 3,837 square feet that sold for $337,500 in October 2003.
“It is so sad to see what was once a very nice home lapse into a decrepit state of total disrepair,” said Bryant Miller, who owns a single-family home on one side of 1825 Peachtree St. and a duplex on the other side of it.
“It certainly does not help the surrounding property values and may even hurt them.”
Because the house is empty and looks neglected, especially when the yard is overgrown, vagrants have managed to camp out inside or under it in the crawl space from time to time, said Miller, who has called the Jackson Police Department for help moving the drifters along.
Located near the Riverside Drive end of Peachtree St., the house looks out on a parking lot at Belhaven University.
Roger Parrott, Ph.D., president of Belhaven University, would like for the property that is an eyesore to be improved or torn down.
When asked if Belhaven University would be interested in acquiring the property, Parrott said the university does not buy neighborhood houses because if they are in the Belhaven Historic District they can only be used as residences, and the university does not have a need for such.
Belhaven owns the house at the corner of Riverside Drive and Peachtree St., which it uses for its security center and film production academic program, he said, but that house is not in the historic district and because of that can be used for a commercial purpose.
The dwellling at 1825 Peachtree St. tops the Greater Belhaven Foundation’s list of blighted property it hopes to do something about.
“We’re focusing on working with local law enforcement and city officials to better understand the levers around code enforcement and to identify blighted properties,” said Mary Alex Thigpen, who became executive director of the foundation last November.
“We’ve made good headway in removing abandoned cars from the neighborhood and are working to transfer this progress to properties as well.”
Henry LaRose, a Realtor who has helped people buy, sell, lease and invest in properties in Belhaven for 51 years, blames the decline of the property on an out-of-state owner and the city’s need for more code enforcement officers and additional funding to fully staff the department and go after absentee property owners.
“It’s a tragedy,” he said of the abode that he remembers showing to clients when it was once on the market. “It’s a tragedy that that house has sat there and is rotting. It’s probably going to be a tear down.”
LaRose can name several homes in Belhaven that need exterior improvements including one where vines have grown as high as the roof but the situation is different from that of 1825 Peachtree St.: The owners still live in those houses, which would perhaps make it a little easier for the city’s code enforcement office to contact someone.
For many years, the house at 1825 Peachtree St. was part of the estate of Cynthia A. Langston, an attorney who according to her obituary died in her sleep at her home on Oct. 26, 2013. Attorneys Joey Langston and Shane Langston are Cynthia Langston’s brothers.
The Hinds County property tax rolls indicate that 1825 Peachtree St. was in the estate from 2014 until 2020 and that GSRAN-Z LLC at P.O. Box 71276 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania bought the property in 2021.
The current owner, NR Deed LLC, located at 1266 W. Paces Ferry Road #517 in Atlanta, purchased the property in 2022. A note on the property tax roll listing for 2023 indicates “parcel was sold in the prior year tax sale.”
What attracts an out-of-state company to purchase residential property in Jackson?
Jackson has a strong single-family home rental market, said Bethany Culley, a Realtor with Keller Williams.
Many residents have poor credit records and must rent because they can’t afford to buy, she said. The area’s abundance of hospitals and colleges with professionals and students moving in and out also make the rental market attractive to investors, she said.
Out-of-state investors ink deals sight-unseen, based on photos and other information online or with the help of a local agent, she said. An investor may plan to renovate property so it can be rented or the property may be sold to another investor if the plans change, she said.
In 2019, South Carolina-based Conrex Master LLC purchased more than 500 houses for rentals in the metro area, including some in Jackson in Belhaven and Fondren. Conrex has a property management office in Ridgeland.
“Conrex got bought out,” Culley said. “The company that bought Conrex has started selling some of the houses they owned in the metro area.”
In 2020, Brookfield Asset Management Inc., acquired a controlling stake in Conrex, according to Bloomberg News.
According to the city of Jackson’s code enforcement information that is available online, the property at 1825 Peachtree St. was cited for code violations while it was still in the estate in 2014, 2017 and 2019.
One of the two most recent code violation files was created on June 7, 2021, with the issue listed as “abandoned property in severe need of maintenance.”
A first notice was issued to the estate on Sept. 2, 2021, that asked that the structure be boarded up and the grass and weeds around the property be cut. A second notice was issued on Sept. 14, 2021, to GSRAN-Z LLC and National Registered Agent LLC in Wilmington, Delaware, and it too, asked that the structure be boarded up and the grass and weeds be cut.
A “close-out letter” was issued on Nov. 1, 2021, that read: “Previously noted violations that were identified in our inspections have been remedied and/or NO violations have been identified based on initial inspections by City Code Enforcement Officers. Thank you for bringing your property back into compliance with the City of Jackson. Please be advised that at this time the filed has been CLOSED.”
The most recent file was created on Oct. 4, 2022, with the issue once again described as “abandoned property in severe need of maintenance.”
Code enforcement issued a “first notice” to NR Deed on Dec. 5, 2022, stating that the property was in violation of certain city ordinances. The notice was also addressed to GSRAN-Z LLC of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Kale Farms LLC of Cape Girardeau, Missouri and Municipal Point Capital LLC of Washington Crossing, Pennsylvania.
Notices dated Dec. 9, 2022, and Dec. 12, 2022, indicated this action was needed: “cut grass, weeds, shrubbery, fence line, bushes, and sapling as needed” and “secure pool area.”
The final notice that is dated March 17, 2023, also noted this action needed to be taken: “cut grass, weeds, shrubbery, fence line, bushes, and saplings,” “secure the pool area” and “Please board up the front door.”
The final notice states: “Failure to follow the correction order will result in prosecution and can be punished by a fine of up to $1,000 or imprisonment…Every day any violation of this Code or any such ordinance shall continue shall constitute a separate offense.”
When asked what’s next for the property, Chloe Dotson, director of planning and development for the city of Jackson, responded:
“We can proceed with court,” she wrote in an email, “but understanding the amount of code violations, it may take time.”
Dotson said in the case of property owner NR Deed it is “extremely difficult to locate a real person to take to court. For example, I cannot take NR Deed LLC to court.”
She also pointed out that Hinds County property ownership changes listed online are not “live,” meaning they are not automatically up to date, and that’s another challenge.
The Jackson City Council acknowledged the need for additional code enforcement officers when it budgeted for two more in the 2024 fiscal year budget. The city had seven code enforcement officers and two supervisors in 2022, the year it launched a website where residents can file complaints about properties that are neglected.
“Drive out West Capitol Street and it’s amazing all the falling down houses you’ll see,” LaRose said. “It looks like Kosovo after the war. That will show you how much work the city’s code enforcement has to do.”
Miller believes a homeowner has a responsibility to the neighborhood to properly maintain property, so it is an asset and not an eyesore.
“Abandoned properties are a blight upon the community and neighborhood,” he said. “It is an absolute shame and travesty that owners allow that sort of thing. I certainly wish there was more that could be done to prevent this from happening and to remedy the situation.”
