Help with abandoned townhouse next-door

My wife and I bought a single family townhouse a year ago in Bushwick, part of the reason it was slightly more affordable was because we share a wall with a matching townhouse, that has been abandoned for 10 years. All documents online show a woman being the holder of the deed, but the house is causing massive issues to our boiler room, and also there seems to be a hole in the property next door... [more]

My wife and I bought a single family townhouse a year ago in Bushwick, part of the reason it was slightly more affordable was because we share a wall with a matching townhouse, that has been abandoned for 10 years. All documents online show a woman being the holder of the deed, but the house is causing massive issues to our boiler room, and also there seems to be a hole in the property next door large enough that caused our pipes to freeze this winter. Our normal lawyer couldn't turn up any information on the owner of the property. We have been advised to hire an engineer to write a formal report on exactly how much financial damage the property is causing, and file a claim in court, hopefully forcing the property into foreclosure, which maybe we could potentially buy from the bank. The engineer I was recommended is charging $5,000 - $8,000 to do this report, which to be honest is more than I can afford. So I'm hoping to find a cheaper engineer, but also curious if anyone has been through the same experience in any way? [less]