Should banks clean up vacant homes?

[Crewleader]

Banking lobbyists have quietly crafted a measure in the Florida Legislature that would prevent cities and counties from forcing the banks that hold mortgages on properties in foreclosure to maintain those properties until they have actually acquired the title to the land.

By Jason Garcia | Orlando Sentinel
9:35 PM EDT, April 22, 2009

also read comments...

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/features/time-money/home/sfl-banks-foreclosure-042209,0,7160839.story?ref=patrick.net

[CC]

1. I think they should.

Once they throw the people out someone must maintain the property. Since they evict people at their whim why shouldn't it be the banks responsibility?



Edited to add- attach the lien to the property just like a tax lien would be, including allowing the municipalities to auction the property off for the lien. They aren't forcing the banks to pay before they have title then, just the banks won't be able to get a free title until the lien is paid or may lose the property all together if someone else bids on the property.

[Crewleader]

5. You said it CC

Banks would like to do things their way.


Banking lobbyists have quietly crafted a measure in the Florida Legislature that would prevent cities and counties from forcing the banks that hold mortgages on properties in foreclosure to maintain those properties until they have actually acquired the title to the land. That foreclosure process can take six months or more.

Banking industry lobbyists hope to tack their language on to other legislation in the waning days of this year's legislative session, which is scheduled to end on May 1.

I have no respect for banks....we can look to our past for answers.


“I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies . . . If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around . . . will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered . . . The issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored to the people, to whom it properly belongs.”

– Thomas Jefferson —

The Debate Over The Recharter Of The Bank Bill, (1809)

[robinlynne]

2. Then it follows; no evictions until they have actually acquired the title to the land!

no eviction, no clean-up.

[barb162]

10. I think a bank has title if it's the owner. Therefore they can evict

a non-paying mortgagee after the court grants them the right of eviction. A person doesn't get title from the bank until the mortgage is fully paid.

[MADem]

3. They should be subject to the same codes and enforcements that homeowners must abide by.

If the town says "Shovel your sidewalk in winter" then the bank had better send someone over with a shovel.

If the city says "No grass over six inches high" then they'd better send someone over with a lawn mower.

They need to get the spirit and get off their asses and find ways to be part of the solution. If they forclose on a house, they should rent it to the people they're forclosing on at a rent that is manageable to the people. Then, if things turn around, those people should have first crack at buying it back at the best possible price for them.

[barb162]

11. I agree with you until your second to last sentence.

The bank doesn't have to do that and if they can find a better paying deal, they'd take it. They owe nothing to the mortgagee other than the deal they signed. It would be the same thing if you owned a building and your tenants stopped paying you. You'd probably get new tenants who could pay you what you need to support the property.

[customerserviceguy]

4. Perhaps

there should be an amendment in Florida law that speeds up a foreclosure proceeding when a mortgaged property has been abandoned. Ideally, the persons abandoning the home should execute some sort of quit claim deed to the lender, to allow them to take over the property and maintain it, but I really don't see any incentive for the abandoners to do so.

If the housing market bottoms out, perhaps lenders will see a way to offer such an incentive. Being able to give someone $1,000 from their last mortgage payment to use as first, last, and a deposit on a rental, then being able to put the property on the market six months earlier might make economic sense for all involved.

[Crewleader]

6. The Bubble Mentality In Florida

April 25th 2009

Florida posters discussed what part of the state would be the best place to see the housing bubble. “Miami or Ft. Myers? Largest inverntory and steepest declines.”

A reply, “Palm Beach (island) isn’t really a condo haven. West Palm Beach is where the condos got out of control, they probably have 10X units for the ‘real’ demand for the product. Even worse are some of the condos that were built OUT of downtown! There’s less then no demand for those units; they will never sell (tear them down, or convert to section 8). WPB is good (and if we all met up there, we could go see my favorite buildings, the million dollar condos in the mall parking lot, and the condos that require a bulletproof vest to enter).”

An observation from New York. “The only reason I’m interested in Palm Beach is co-workers keep buying condos there… Although some have invested in Miami, and some in other parts of Florida.”

“Personally, I’d never buy a condo in Florida. A house, yes (a cheap one). A condo, no.”

http://thehousingbubbleblog.com/?p=5400#comments

[angryfirelord]

7. This is what banks do to them

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvrc7x3Amps

[phantom power]

8. If they own it, they maintain it.

[barb162]

12. Damned right! n/t

[barb162]

9. Banks or whoever the owner is should clean up the homes.

I don't care if someone is living in it or not. Any owner shouldn't be allowed to crap up a neighborhood.