Vacant, foreclosed homes in the area have become a real problem,
but the city has started to take action after lengthy inspections
to bring the situation under control. Soon, faraway owners will be
receiving letters that should compel them to take care of property
neglect here.
Vacant, foreclosed homes in the area have become a real problem, but the city has started to take action after lengthy inspections to bring the situation under control. Soon, faraway owners will be receiving letters that should compel them to take care of property neglect here.
The growing problem of empty houses owned by distant banks, often on different continents, is addressed by a new law in the municipal code put into effect a little more than three weeks ago. It specifies what constitutes a problem house with unacceptable violations, what the owners must do to rectify the situation, and detailed penalties for failure to bring these properties in line both from a safety and an aesthetic standpoint.
“It took us most of the last three weeks to properly inspect all the foreclosed vacant homes. We started with 250, but another 30 or so have been added while we were doing the inspections,” said Code Enforcement Officer Mike Chambless.
Once the homes that posed the greatest problems were identified, the complicated process of locating the owners began, and officials started mailing out letters Wednesday. “Forty to 50 vacated residences require immediate attention,” Chambless said. “We sent out 25 of these letters in the last two days, and should have the rest out by the end of the week.”
These letters warn that a $1,000 a day fine can result if compliance is not met by the owners. The maximum penalty of $100,000 should make even the bankers of Japan and Germany take notice of their properties’ negative effect on this community.
Once the owners receive the message they have 10 days to respond, appealing the decision if they like, and enroll in the monitoring program if they have no defense or objection. If they fix the problems, then can go six consecutive months without further violations, they will be removed from the list.
