Homes on Bank Foreclosure List Pose Threat During Hurricane
Debris from houses and construction work sites on bank foreclosure list littered Southwest Florida’s landscape and may cause danger to everyone, especially during hurricane season. Southwest Florida officials and residents are concerned that debris from these properties on bank foreclosure list could fly during a hurricane and cause great damage.
Lee County Emergency Management chief of planning Gerald Campbell said that these foreclosed properties pose a substantial threat to people’s lives and other homes. Residents of the county could still remember the damage and danger brought about by Hurricane Charley which struck the area in 2004.
The hurricane, with winds of 150 miles per hour, torn off roofs of hundreds of houses in the area. And the natural disaster happened during the peak of the construction industry when abandoned properties were still few.
Now, if a hurricane comes along, the damage is expected to be insurmountable with thousands of abandon and vacant properties and partially built houses in a state of deterioration.
The foreclosure problem has been hounding the region since 2007 as investors and borrowers abandon their properties worth below their original market value. In April, the median single-family home price was $85,000, representing a 73 percent decline from the December 2005 peak of $322,300.
To lessen the threat pose by foreclosed properties, especially during a storm, building inspectors in the region have intensified their enforcement efforts to ensure safety. For example, the Department of Community Development in Lee County has opened nearly 1,100 violation cases in Lehigh Acres where foreclosure rate is high.
Joan LaGuardia of the Department of Community Development explained that when building inspectors discovered foreclosed homes that pose a threat, they do not waste time in cleaning them up and making them safe. She added that the department has only 10 days of due process for each abandoned and vacant foreclosed home.
For the meantime, the county picks up the bill for cleaning these foreclosure properties. However, it files a lien so that if the property gets sold, it would be able to collect payment for the cleaning service.
Meanwhile, Cape Coral code compliance division manager Frank Cassidy said that his inspectors are making sure that foreclosed properties in the area will not be a danger to anyone.
Once inspectors have verified that a home is on bank foreclosure list, they will contact the owner and within 48 hours, action will be taken by the city to make sure that the structures will not be a problem.
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- Regulation of Bank Foreclosure List Rescue Firms Urge
- Foreclosure Properties Going Rampant in Hawaii
- Wisconsin Sheriffs Struggle as Foreclosures Continue Upswing
- Hope Comes to Distressed Homeowners Who Want to Avoid Foreclosure
