Somers home dangles over Lake Michigan, ready to be razed: 'Ground is pretty unstable'



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Somers home on brink of falling into Lake Michigan to be razed



SOMERS -- One Kenosha County home is well on its way to making a splash. The abandoned property in the Village of Somers has been gaining recent attention for a problem that seems to be getting worse by the day.

"Just given all the rain we've had, the ground is pretty unstable there," said Jason Peters, Village and Town of Somers Assistant Administrator. "It's been something that's creeping up."

The home's foundation is being pulled apart as a gap grows larger between its bricks. Down below, buoys and cables are serving as a temporary fix.

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Somers home on brink of falling into Lake Michigan to be razed



"If anything falls in, those buoys will trap that," Peters said.

The home's former owners parted ways when their back porch tumbled into the lake.

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Somers home on brink of falling into Lake Michigan to be razed



"Unfortunately, it's just a very expensive proposition," Peters said. "$100,000 to 200,000 dollars depending on how much shoreline you have."

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Somers home on brink of falling into Lake Michigan to be razed



Peters said the crumbling house is now in the hands of mortgage lender Fannie Mae. The company has hired a contractor to raze the property beginning as early as Friday, Oct. 11.

"Now, we're just in a holding pattern -- waiting for the contractor to physically remove the house," Peters said.

In the meantime, Peters said nearby property owners might want to start doing their homework.

"It's not a problem that's going away," Peters said. "If people don't choose to address it, given the high water levels, this problem could continue."

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Somers home on brink of falling into Lake Michigan to be razed



A neighbor that FOX6 News spoke with said it is about time the home is taken down. She and other neighbors hope it will finally curb people from driving through their neighborhood -- just to look at the dicey scene.