Permit forgeries force homeowners to vacate

Published 9:00 pm Friday, May 26, 2006

BEND, Ore. – A group of Bend-area homeowners were forced to vacate their homes after a police investigation turned up a rash of forged city building permits and inspection documents.

The forgeries of documents for 20 homes built by Beaverton-based developer Monticello Homes came to light this spring, city building official Robert Mathias said.

Seven of the buildings were unoccupied when forged permits were uncovered, Mathias said, but people were living in 13 others.

Monticello’s home office tipped off the city in March to a discrepancy between the checks it had written to the city and the number of permit receipts it had received.

Further review turned up falsified documents including final occupancy permits and inspections for work such as insulation and electrical systems, Mathias said.

Monticello President Jamie Lerma said four residents were removed from their homes for the duration of the inspection work. One still is out of her house.

The inspections have turned up “some things that did not meet minimum code standards,” Mathias said, but no serious building deficiencies.

Monticello fired a local supervisor after the problem surfaced, Lerma said. The company has also picked up the bill for mortgage payments, rentals, food and other costs for the homeowners who were put out of their homes.