Foreclosures and the Burden of Code Officers

September 5th, 2008

It is the code officers who are burdened with the ugly task of executing foreclosures – no easy task. Cheryl Lander listens to the ring of the phone early in the morning and knows that the work ahead is not palatable. Cheryl is a code enforcement officer of Bradenton and apprehends the call is concerning enforcement of foreclosure in her area. She has to attend to a multiple jobs – unkempt garden, damaged windows, festering garbage and stagnant pools.

Her latest call was regarding a fire in an empty foreclosed house. The Bradenton Fire Department wanted her to obtain inspection reports pertaining to a house including prior violations. A sudden fire in a foreclosed house is no longer news – it has become a commonplace matter.

The problems relating to abandoned empty foreclosed units are countless – persistent termite attacks, unkempt gardens and wobbly structures. All these and others had become issues of public safety requiring the enforcement board’s attention. A meeting was held comprising of the board and the attorney of the bank. The latter was apprised of the situation and told to either demolish the house or to bring it up to code rule standards. Nothing happened.

In Manatee County there were 3,605 foreclosures since the beginning of 2008. The increasing numbers are putting a lot of work pressure on the code enforcement staff. Foreclosed house offences range from vandalism to tall grass, termites and rodent menace. Bradenton has four officers who can quickly locate the foreclosed units in their area. It is a difficult task to balance violation of rules by foreclosed houses and those by ordinary houses. Nearly half the complaints come from the foreclosed abandoned units. The most challenging task is to research and find out the particulars of the owner and then contacting them.

In Palmetto also the foreclosures were overwhelming. The city had to reassign the coordinator for human resources who had experience in public works to help code enforcement officers. Foreclosure is not just about the house but the chain of attendant problems relating to the vacant unit. More foreclosures mean more work. The banks have earned a reputation for going back on their words about maintaining the repossessed units. Ultimately it is the taxpayer’s money that funds the expenses. In many cases lawns have to be mowed by public utility services because of the callous attitude of banks. Routine invoices are sent to banks. But that does not mean that the city always gets recompensed.