A neighbor in South Sacramento said the empty house next to his has become outright dangerous since the property entered probate in July. 

Joseph Caldeira has been surveilling the home 24/7 and said it started with someone stealing the boat from the backyard. He found it parked near a little league field down the street and brought it back, removing the tires. 

He said the city put up a no trespassing sign on the fence and a warning to keep out on a front window in September, but that has not been a deterrent. 

"It smells like ammonia," said Caldeira. "The rats are in there really bad. They have chewed holes in the drywall and the floor." 

Caldeira said the homeowner's brother gave him permission to bolt up the house and secure it anyway he could, but then it still caught fire at the end of November. 

Surveillance video from the street behind it captured the glow as Caldeira raced to hose down his trees to prevent them from spreading. 

"Right now, the grass is green, but if that fire was to have happened in the summer, it would have just gone up like a cinder," said Caldeira. 

Calderia is calling on the city to do more. 

"We got them out to condemn it, but we'd really like to get a fence put up," said Caldeira. 

A few days after the fire in November, the city told CBS Sacramento that if the property owner is non-responsive, the building is in threat of collapsing or becomes a danger to the community, they will put a fence up. 

"You scare one away, but another one comes," Caldeira said. 

For now, Caldeira is the one with the keys to open the gate he said squatters keep cutting through. He is concerned for his family. 

Caldeira said a few years ago someone who was squatting nearby broke into his home in the middle of the night and that is why he is even more on edge about all of this. 

The city is in touch with the family and probate attorney, but did not give a timeline for what is next.