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City Considers Repossession Homes Registry

June 12, 2009

The city council of Shoreview, Minnesota is planning to require owners of abandoned, vacant and repossession homes to register their properties to prevent them from becoming blights in neighborhoods and communities in the area.

Just like the rest of the country, Shoreview is also experiencing a growing number of foreclosed properties since 2007. Council member Ady Wickstrom said that the foreclosure problem will continue to worsen if no action will be made to stop it.

Being considered by the city council are two proposed ordinances. One ordinance is intended for vacated houses, while the other is for repossession homes. However, some council members were not fully convinced about the proposals and voted to set aside the issue for future discussion.

The Planning Committee reviewed and discussed the proposal which aims to ensure effective monitoring of vacant and foreclosed properties. The monitoring will be done by both law enforcement and neighborhood watch groups.

The proposal also aims to encourage property owners to develop timely and effective rehabilitation plans and set up minimum maintenance requirements. If approved, the program will be administered by the community development department.

All registrants would be required to pay a fee which will be used to cover the costs of administration and enforcement. City Planner Kathleen Nordine said that aside from Shoreview, other cities that have implemented the registration policy are Anoka, Brooklyn Center, Burnsville and Columbia Heights.

Patrick Ruble, a representative of the St. Paul Area Association of Realtors, raised what he deemed is a flaw in the registration policy. He questioned the council on who will be responsible for registering repossession homes, whether it will be the previous or the new owner.

He also questioned whether Shoreview, which has very low foreclosure rates compared with other cities in the state, need a registration ordinance. He pointed out that the registration policy could discourage any reinvestment due to additional requirements involved.

Wells Fargo’s manager of local government activities Ellen McGuinnes echoed Ruble’s questions about the viability of the registration policy, saying that it would dampen home sales. She suggested several existing programs that the city council could consider such as the First Look and Home Prosperity Fund.

In May, the number of repossession homes in Minnesota declined by 6 percent from April.

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