New purchaser says 434 Vine largely repaired but litigation delayed work; inspection scheduled

Caleb, who said he purchased 434 Vine nearly a year ago, told the Hammond City Board on July 30 that he had largely repaired fire damage and installed a new roof, but legal action from a mortgage company has paused work. "The fire damage is gone...there's basically no danger anymore," Caleb said while asking staff to conduct an interior inspection.

City inspections staff asked for a lockbox code to perform an interior walk-through and proposed returning the item to the board in two weeks for a status check. The board agreed to a status date of Aug. 13, 2026, and instructed staff to proceed with inspection scheduling; if a rehab agreement is executed before that date the status could be vacated.