Hollister officials pursue fines against owners
Absentee owners of foreclosed homes in Hollister remain a
problem about four months after city officials approved a neglected
vacant house ordinance.
”
A lot of people are still really upset that they have a vacant
property on their street and their house value is falling,
”
said Mike Chambless, Hollister’s code enforcement officer.
Hollister officials pursue fines against owners
Absentee owners of foreclosed homes in Hollister remain a problem about four months after city officials approved a neglected vacant house ordinance.
“A lot of people are still really upset that they have a vacant property on their street and their house value is falling,” said Mike Chambless, Hollister’s code enforcement officer.
There are 824 houses in Hollister that are at some stage of foreclosure, based on information from Chambless.
In February there were 589 homes in Hollister at some stage of foreclosure.
In early May, code enforcement intern Penny Chestnut-Lee, inspected more than 250 foreclosed houses in Hollister.
“It took her six days,” Chambless said. “We’re going to be checking on them about every month and a half because that’s as fast as we can turn it around in this process.”
Most of the violations were minor, such as weeds, garbage and green water in swimming pools, Chambless said.
The worst violation was fixed, Chambless said.
“I had one, I could have walked across the water,” Chambless said. “And I’m not divine.”
A thick green crust of dried algae was covering the pool and the fence was broken.
“I got that fixed by the bank,” Chambless said. “What if a child fell in there? I got a call back in 10 minutes.”
Other owners were less responsive.
Chambless mailed letters to 40 owners informing them they are in violation of municipal code and must register for Hollister’s vacant house program.
As part of the program, the owner must post a 24-hour contact number for a responsible agent. The responsible agent must live within 60 miles of the house and inspect it two times per week.
Owners can be removed from the program if they have no violations for six months.
Code enforcement staff use a Web site, www.realtytrac.com, to locate the homeowners, Chambless said.
“It’s the best we’ve got,” Chambless said. “Of the 40 letters we sent, two people have contacted me already and said we don’t own it anymore.”
One owner wanted to register for the program.
“The other 37 approximately, we haven’t heard a peep from,” Chambless said. “In other words, they’re ignoring us.”
Owners have 10 days to respond, according to documents from Chambless.
The homeowners are located all over the world.
“The majority of them are all banks and trustee firms,” Chambless said.
A trustee firm acts on behalf of a bank, Chambless said.
Bank officials will comply with the law, Chambless said.
“I predict that we will have to go all the way with several of these houses,” Chambless said. “Then the banks will take action.”
City staff will either take the issue to court or hold an administrative hearing, Chambless said.
“If we wind up going to court, we’ll be looking for a civil injunction against the order,” Chambless said.
A civil injunction means that a judge would order the owner to fix the violations, Chambless said.
“If they fail to fix this, it will be contempt of court,” Chambless said. “That’s fine time. And jail time, actually. It’s up to the judge.”
Chambless does not know what the judge might order.
“I never try to predict was a judge is going to do,” Chambless said. “I find that would be disrespectful, because they know things I don’t.”
If Hollister officials hold an administrative hearing, the administrative hearing officer would render a judgment, Chambless said.
The maximum fine is $1,000 per violation per day, according to documents from Chambless. The fine would be rendered from the date that the letter was sent, Chambless said.
Chambless does not know how much of a nuisance foreclosed houses might become in the future.
“Our next inspection is going to really tell us,” Chambless said. “If we go from 41 to 42, that’s a good number.”
Sixty violations would be a bad number, Chambless said. It would mean that the homeowners are neglecting the houses.
Other cities have seen vacant houses stripped of all saleable products, used by squatters and used for parties.
Vacant homes in Hollister have been the site of drug busts.
“Things have kind of quieted down,” Chambless said. “I have not received as many calls.”
Chambless does not know why.
“I’ve been trying to figure it out,” Chambless said. “It will be interesting to see what happens in September, October, November. Whenever it gets cold here.”
To report a violation, send an e-mail with the specific violation and house address to
mi************@ho*******.gov
.
