Foreclosed Bungalow Heaven home damaged, neighbors say

PASADENA, Calif. (KABC) -- Pasadena residents say a lot of construction has been going on at a historic Bungalow Heaven home.

The home is listed on the National Register of Historic Places because of its architectural design. According to neighbors, there has been nonstop loud construction at the property ever since Sunday.

Neighbor Mike Nagle says the features in his own home are mostly still original from 1913, and the home across the street once was almost a mirror image. But now, the back of his neighbor's house is torn apart, and many parts, such as the door moldings, light fixtures and original built-in woodwork, are gone.

"The value of the parts is often more valuable than the actual house itself," said Nagle.

John Ripley wrote the book on Pasadena's Bungalow Heaven. The area includes about 1,000 homes from the early 1900s. They still look pretty similar to how they did back then, and that's required by law.

"There are regulations on altering the exterior of the house," said neighbor Juan Delacruz.

Clearly, the exterior on the home with the "keep out" sign is being altered. Police showed up to the home Tuesday night, but they didn't tell us why. The woman neighbors call a "squatter" opened the door and spoke to the officers.

Eyewitness News learned that the home was foreclosed upon by Bank of America and sold to an investment group in November. That group recently discovered squatters and are trying to get them out.

The city says "there appears to have been some work done to both the exterior and interior of the home without permits." City officials posted a stop-work order at the front door. But Nagle says he spotted a garden hose left running inside the home.

"I don't know what the purpose would be to flood the living room with water other than to destroy the house," said Nagle.

We tried to bring that up, but no one inside the home wanted to speak to us.

Neighbors say two homes in Bungalow Heaven were actually burned down and they are trying to prevent that from happening again.

Get more Los Angeles News »

pasadena, los angeles news, elex michaelson

• Comment Now
• Email
• Print
• Report a typo
•