LONGVIEW — More than 143 structures are on Longview's 'substandard' inspection list.
That means those buildings are in various stages of disarray, a problem city workers are trying to fix.
"Hurt. That people don't care, they just, they don't care," John Little said.
Having lived in Longview his whole life, Little said he's tired of looking at these eyesores in his community.
"They just abuse it, abuse the privilege of owning a home," Little said.
He does yard work right next door to one of the buildings that the city has deemed, 'low grade.'
"I'm just in awe of how much trash is in these homes," Little said.
While people like Little are worried about the appearance of these houses, city workers are also worried about things like safety.
"You know a lot of times you'll have vandals go into these properties, or sell drugs, or do graffiti, all kinds of other unsavory activities," Michael Shirley said.
Shirley is the Director of Development Services for the city.
"They're dangerous structures," Shirley said. "They're dangerous to the adjacent properties owners, where they could cause you know if they fell in on themselves, or passerby's, or fires and things like that."
So what is being done about the problem?
It starts with the buildings being submitted to the city for inspection.
If they're found to be substandard, homeowners have the opportunity to fix them.
If they don't it goes before a judge, from there, the city could either board the properties up or tear them down.
When that happens, the city has to foot that bill up front.
"We just get a warrant to go on the property and execute the demolition," Shirley said. "Once that occurs, then we will take that and file a lien on the property for the value of the demolition."
With the hope that they'll eventually see that money again, when the property sells or transfers.
Shirley said seeing the city revitalized is worth it.
"Take these properties that are just eye sores and dangers and scrape them and get a clean slate, and have a property that's available for somebody to start over with," Shirley said.
As for Little, he had another suggestion for the city.
He said they should let private organization fix them up, and allow underprivileged families to live in them.