sdgrrl, Mission Hills and SD’s best surrounding urban zip codes are flush with owners who don’t have a huge tax burden … that is, those pre April 1978 purchasers with Prop 13 protection and their heirs. Many, many of these properties are paid off and have been for many years. If the owners choose to let them sit because they can’t obtain on the open market a fantasy price in their heads, that is their perogative, even if they are heirs residing out of county or out of state. It’s not illegal to leave a property vacant and hire someone to periodically clean/mow the lot (to avoid weed abatement fines). I have noticed this phenomenon with South Lake Tahoe properties, listed or not. A very large percentage of owners there are out of county or out of state. It seems some of their asking prices are above what the market will bear and, even after 3+ yrs on the market, never seem to get substantially lowered enough to compete with the “must sell” properties in today’s market.

The truth of the matter is, many CA owners don’t have to make any $$ at all from a property bequeathed to them. Pursuant to Prop 13, their carrying costs are merely $300 to $700 yr in taxes, plus their annual homeowner’s insurance premium. These meager expenses are often split between siblings and other relatives, many already “well-heeled” without the proceeds from this sale. They can market the property into oblivion, waiting for their “dream buyer” to show up and pay close to what they are asking under terms they can live with. In the interim, they don’t want tenants tearing the property up.

Not advocating for delusional sellers here, but just bear in mind that it’s a free country and always will be.