A demolition notice from the City of Saskatoon is posted on the front door of a property on Beechdale Crescent.
“People in the neighbourhood found that things were kind of getting out of hand here,” said Saskatoon Fire Department assistant chief Wayne Rodger.
From the outside nothing appears to be wrong — but what fire officials came across after the first visit to the Briarwood house earlier this year sparked some concern.
“Found one of the doors open,” Rodger recalled. “It was actually unsecured and open to the public.”
“We got inside — saw a fair amount of damage as a result of water penetration.”
The basement is flooded, according to Rodger. He said humidity in the house is so high mould is growing on the walls and paint is peeling.
Virtually no furniture is left inside.
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“It appears this house has been vacant for a couple of years,” Rodger noted.
“Our investigation shows the electrical utilities were turned off sometime in 2016.”
A repair order was issued first. When no one complied, it turned into an order to demolish — registered to the owner.
The problem is — the owner was nowhere to be found and attempts to contact Yu Liu have been unsuccessful, according to Rodger.
Some acquaintances told Global News on Friday the owner is living in China and — as of Thursday night — has been made aware of the situation.
One neighbour said, at the time, a woman appeared to be living alone in the home and was going to university.
TurnKey Group realtor Jeff Thiessen said this is the only case he’s heard of a new build about to be demolished.
“This doesn’t happen,” Thiessen said. “Not in areas like Briarwood.”
He noted houses in this area are generally valued at around $500,000.
“This kind of situation is exceedingly rare, because even with whatever is going on inside — with how bad it looks — it would be worth a healthy sum,” Thiessen said.
Rodger noted the fire department has been part of more than 30 demolitions over the past three years — but acknowledges this situation is unique.
“We do this with some regularity, but usually from an exterior perspective they do appear derelict,” he explained.
The house is scheduled to come down early October.
According to the Cities Act, any demolition costs will fall to the owner.
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