These recent articles have brought us to yet another "fork in the road" – When is it time to fix up an old building and when is it time to demolish it?

The time has come to re-evaluate and deal with the worst of the older housing and building stock in Grays Harbor County.

Sincere debates have begun regarding abatements. The message is "enough is enough," expressed in absolute determination to force property owners to either renovate their derelict properties or remove them.

As the increasing political and economic pressure is applied, you may find a certified "Abatement order" in your mailbox. If you do receive such notice, know that you have rights, but that if you want to preserve those rights you should respond to the order in a timely fashion.

Your Public Works Department is empowered to determine and enforce The Uniform Building Code and the health and safety statutes it contains. Your building official’s determination will be fully documented using these codes and will usually be supported with additional reports from the fire and police departments.

On the political side of this issue, some people feel the heart of the matter is pure economics. The better overall eye-appeal of our communities, the easier it is to attract outside investment into the area. To this end, the obsolete and decayed buildings need to either be fixed up or abated.

Another distressed voice in this many-sided debate belongs to the owners of targeted property. Some folks have emotional links to their property, such as a multiple-generation family homestead. But that sentimental value may not be known, shared or appreciated by others.

Some may have a monetary stake in their property and do not want to see their potential investment torn down and thrown away.

Unfortunately, some owners simply may not have the financial ability to fix it up or tear it down.

Others may own several properties and therefore have the best potential to become community builders, but apparently don’t care to.

At Aberdeen Neighborhood Housing Services (ANHS), we are in the home, neighborhood, and community revitalization business. In our 19-year history we have rebuilt some of the worst structures into safe, livable homes.

But time has taken its toll on so many other homes and we have accepted the fact that in many cases it no longer makes economic sense to do anything but demolish and build new. Any emotional value will have to remain in the land and in the heart of the client, but other new values will be created.

The value to their neighborhood will be clear as other property owners spruce up the houses surrounding this new home. And, the value of the renewed pride of ownership? Priceless

As a structure becomes more dilapidated, the cost rises to bring it to safe and code-acceptable standards. When it costs more to prepare the structure for another century of hard use than it does to demolish it and build new, it’s time to think about value.

A rental investor considering a fixer-upper, will want the potential rental income to at least equal the monthly payment, insurance and taxes.

But, if the appraised value of the home after it’s properly refurbished, won’t at least match the purchase price plus the labor and material costs, somebody better think about value.

Maybe you have been waiting for your area to economically "pop," and for some rich business to buy your old, dilapidated dump.

Reviewing your property’s assessed value statement, under "improvements," will tell you the current taxable value of the building(s) on your property. When it comes to lower-quality structures and boarded-up buildings, it’s possible the assessor may not know how bad the structure really is, and therefore, it could be over valued. But, generally your statement can give you an idea if the structure has any value at all.

It stands to reason that the best locations and most prepared sites will most likely be the first considered for purchase. Those are the sites that are free of underground tanks and other environmental issues, as well as those without old structures to tear down. In short, raw clean land may have more value to a potential buyer.

Whether demolition just makes sense or is mandated through an abatement order, you will certainly want to keep your costs to a minimum.

Waiting for your city to do the deed will result in compounding costs that will likely result in a lien on your property or affect your personal credit history.

It’s not just code violations and health and safety issues driving these clean-up efforts. Proactive citizen groups are demanding that their community be better presented to the outside world.

Just like people, communities have only one chance to make a first impression.

These buildings are owned individually, perhaps, but the corridor into or through any city is viewed as a whole and acts as one of the many mirrors of its citizenry.

That’s why your city officials are being heavily lobbied to proceed with the removal of junky or abandoned cars, piles of garbage and the abatements of bad buildings.

The practice of removing or covering over a building to build something new, is an ancient human endeavor. As our needs change we make our environment adapt.

Just think, the Kingdome, with a few exceptions, is younger than our newest house on the Harbor and it will be turned to dust this month!

As we look at the buildings in Grays Harbor, we must take stock of our needs and reinvest in ourselves.

We at ANHS will continue to do our best as well as applaud those who help the folks we cannot help.

As an individual, you can contribute to your community by simply maintaining your property, and voluntarily discarding those structures that are no longer serviceable.