Our mega-throwaway-society has expanded to include homes (old and abandoned, or newly mini-mansioned, or still under construction); apartment and condo buildings, industrial and commercial buildings; and depending on where you live, such as the Northwest, all manner of boats and vessels, in and out of the water, but mostly in.
Detroit used to be the poster child for abandoned homes and buildings, as well as entire neighborhoods. But since the recession, cities all across the country, (even fiscally sound ones) have the same problem.
In Eastern Washington, Spokane is considering creating a registry of abandoned homes as a way to prevent them from slipping into disrepair. The ordinance would require banks or other responsible parties to register all abandoned homes in the city. The parties would have to provide a local contact to respond to problems such as broken windows or graffiti. The registry would include properties that are abandoned and under foreclosure, trustee’s sale, tax assessor’s lien sale, deed transfer in lieu of foreclosure or subject to a contract, the Spokesman-Review reported. The city would require an annual $200 fee for each property. A private company would be hired to create and maintain the registry. Failing to register a property would result in a $500 civil fine.
It’s a good start to a big problem. Many cities, particularly in the East, have enacted similar ordinances, including speeding up the time it takes a property to go through foreclosure. Everett requires vacant buildings in its main business district be kept up to a certain standard. Something similar to Spokane’s plan would help Everett address non-business nuisance properties.
One of the problems with the abandoned properties is that they attract squatters, who quickly render the place beyond a state of “disrepair.” It’s the “broken window” theory writ large. Why wouldn’t people without a place to live take over a neglected, abandoned house?
(It’s crazy, but maybe there’s a way to use a small percentage of these properties to legally house “squatters,” who then might actually take some pride in keeping the places up. But that would “reward” people for being “squatters.” And we can’t have that. So the least we can do is punish people/institutions for being “abandoners,” who lower property values and create nuisance properties, which are then inhabited by squatters…)
The banks and mortgage companies, or the “responsible parties” as they are known, are often located outside of the state, making it harder for cities to get any response at all. Which is why fees and fines are the way to go. Banks and lenders have money; cities left to deal with the foreclosure crisis do not.
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