{"id":138979,"date":"2025-08-12T06:31:13","date_gmt":"2025-08-12T06:31:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/138979\/"},"modified":"2025-08-12T06:31:13","modified_gmt":"2025-08-12T06:31:13","slug":"oak-forest-homeowners-demand-action","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/138979\/","title":{"rendered":"Oak Forest homeowners demand action"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\"><strong>HOUSTON<\/strong> \u2013 In Houston\u2019s Oak Forest subdivision, some homes sit behind construction fencing, incomplete and untouched for months, in some cases, years, leaving residents worried about more than just property values.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">\u201cIt was sitting before the derecho hit, and it had been that way for months,\u201d said Yolanda Rico-Pyron, who lives near one such home. <\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">\u201cIt seems like a bigger issue\u2026 I feel like a magnet for these businesses,\u201d Rico-Pyron added. She\u2019s watched as builders buy lots in the deed-restricted neighborhood with plans for large new homes only for progress to stall or stop completely.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 kDvXdO font_openSans articleList\">\n<li class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__StackBase-sc-1fnzlkn-7 ecGWWE iQviKm\"\/><\/ul>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">At least three homes in the area on Chippendale, Viking, and De Milo have sat idle for months. Others, she says, have gone a year or more without any work.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">\u201cWe\u2019ve done everything,\u201d Rico-Pyron said. \u201cI called 311, reached out to the HOA, and even spoke to someone in the city\u2019s legal department. But it\u2019s a catch-22, the city is limited on what they can enforce, and the HOA has no power to make anyone follow through.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">The City of Houston\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.houstontx.gov\/legal\/dr-proving.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.houstontx.gov\/legal\/dr-proving.html\">Legal Department website<\/a> states enforcement is often tied to deed restrictions. Unless a structure is classified as dangerous or violates specific easements, the city\u2019s ability to intervene is limited.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">Still, residents are encouraged to help build a case by collecting the following:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 kDvXdO font_openSans articleList\">\n<li class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__StackBase-sc-1fnzlkn-7 ecGWWE iQviKm\">\n<p><b>Pictures<\/b> of the suspected violation<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__StackBase-sc-1fnzlkn-7 ecGWWE iQviKm\">\n<p><b>Eyewitness accounts<\/b> from those who observe activity firsthand<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__StackBase-sc-1fnzlkn-7 ecGWWE iQviKm\">\n<p><b>Daily logs<\/b> detailing what was seen, including vehicle details or potential contractor visits<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__StackBase-sc-1fnzlkn-7 ecGWWE iQviKm\">\n<p><b>Any printed or documentary evidence<\/b> related to property use<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">The city\u2019s Deed Restriction Enforcement Team can investigate, but it requires supporting evidence.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">\u201cI just want to know what we can do as citizens, as taxpayers, to make sure we\u2019re protected from squatters, rodents, and dropping property values,\u201d Rico-Pyron said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">KPRC 2 reached out to the city\u2019s legal department, department of neighborhoods, and public works for comment. As of this publishing, KPRC 2 has not heard back from the city.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 kDvXdO font_openSans articleList\">\n<li class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__StackBase-sc-1fnzlkn-7 ecGWWE iQviKm\"\/><\/ul>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">Over on Viking Drive. Armando Araujo and his wife purchased their home years ago with a plan for it to be their retirement home. He lives next to a home, he says, and hasn\u2019t been touched in three months.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">\u201cThey get red-tagged, but they\u2019re ignored. For months, no one\u2019s here. And then you just don\u2019t know what\u2019s going to happen something could fly off the house,\u201d Araujo said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">He says animals often move from the vacant property onto his and the structure\u2019s unfinished state could easily invite trespassers. <\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">\u201cHey, it\u2019s their property. They can do what they want. But at this point, it\u2019s like\u2026 can we just move this along?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>City of Houston red tag notice for a Oak Forest home neighbors routinely complain about for sitting idle. (Copyright 2025 by KPRC Click2Houston &#8211; All rights reserved.)<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">The Viking home has received a red tag from the City of Houston dated August 7, 2025.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">Rico-Pyron says she will continue to check in with her neighbors for updates on the homes, until someone steps in before the issue worsens.<\/p>\n<p>Copyright 2025 by KPRC Click2Houston &#8211; All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"HOUSTON \u2013 In Houston\u2019s Oak Forest subdivision, some homes sit behind construction fencing, incomplete and untouched for months,&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":138980,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5130],"tags":[9886,30652,421,4345,14702,76400,358,3187],"class_list":{"0":"post-138979","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-houston","8":"tag-construction","9":"tag-home-building","10":"tag-homes","11":"tag-houston","12":"tag-oak-forest","13":"tag-squatters","14":"tag-texas","15":"tag-tx"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115014394552891826","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138979","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=138979"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138979\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/138980"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=138979"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=138979"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=138979"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}