Bremerton, WA Cracks Down on Foreclosed Abandoned Buildings
The city council of Bremerton WA has unanimously passed a local ordinance to crack down on abandoned foreclosed buildings. This new law is the first of its kind. Let’s hope it sparks a nationwide trend.
Beginning August 1st, the owner of an abandoned residential or commercial property will be required to register the property with the city of Bremerton. The owner will be responsible for checking the property once a month for tall grass, unlocked doors, broken windows, graffiti and any other nuisance that can blight a neighborhood.
Since most if not all of these abandoned properties are in foreclosure, the owner is most likely to be a bank which may or may not have a branch nearby. (This ordinance does NOT apply to landlords who don’t currently have a tenant, or owners who live on a property but are out of town for long periods of time.)
Bremerton’s community development director described the urban blight that results from too many abandoned buildings:
“You’ve got basically shells of buildings in the middle of neighborhoods. These things are bad for everybody.”
As the linked article says:
“That deterioration is accelerated when squatters invade, bringing trash and crime. The result is a less safe neighborhood, a diminished sense of community and lower property values.”
Failure to register a property, or allowing the property to deteriorate, could result in a fine of $1,000 and a $100-a-day penalty until the violation is corrected.
It’s about time banks and foreclosure mills started taking responsibility for the properties they confiscate. It’s not enough to just say “OK, we’ve kicked them out of their home. Our work here is done.”
It’ll be interesting to see how the banking industry reacts to this ordinance, especially if laws like this start spreading like wildfire. We might start seeing some new Astroturf groups staging choreographed “demonstrations” on behalf of the foreclosure mills’ property rights.
Or maybe the banks will order their congressional prostitutes to pass a federal law banning this type of local ordinance. We’ll see…
posted by Tom Harper @ 4:37 PM
9 Comments:
They'll hire some local mom n' pop landscaper to cut the grass, then jack the account fees up to compensate, pocketing the sizable profit.
ahh still nothing about the Boston Massacre I see. Doesn't fit the narrative I presume
Friend of mine started a little extra money making thing, approaching some banks and real estate offices to cut grass and tidy up lawns of their listed and foreclosed properties. he's now a jerb creetor since he had to hire a few more people to help him out there is so much business.
@Anon, if you want it written, then go to your own blog and write something about it, no one is keeping yer ass here reading anything.
If the Banks can't figure out who owns the properties, how can the Cities?
But seriously a city making a law on how presentable you can keep your house, isn't that like big government like intruding on your personal castle - cites can't do that - can they?
Erik
Randal: Jacked-up fees are what made America great. You ain't one of them Commies are you?
Anon.: What Jess said (the comment after yours). Show us a link to your blog so we can all read your words of wisdom.
Jess: That's the kind of job creators we need more of.
Good answer to Anon.
Erik: I agree this law is a bit intrusive, but abandoned deteriorating houses are a blight and a hazard. I think most neighborhood residents would approve of an ordinance like this, for their own safety if nothing else.
@Erik. Hubby and I live in one of those gated communities that all elleetizt live in(thanks mom and dad) and our little gestapo housing group can tell us how to paint and what color shutters can be and all kinds of things. I got fined for having the audacity to put a drying area up in our backyard where I could hang clothes and let the sun do its work, instead of my clothes dryer in the hot months here. Doesn't help community spirit since it was a neighbor couple houses away told on us. I told them we are not paying any fine, take me to court, hasn't happened yet and if it does I still won't be paying.
Oh and if I ever start a blog, I am going to call it What Jess Said since more than once, you guys have given me that name to use. Of course if it gets big, you guys will be getting zero credit for giving me the name. I'm just saying:)
LOL!
Hey Jess, I was being sarcastic, making fun of the right wing who makes these laws in their neighborhoods yet preach about Gummit intrusion.
Erik
I know this is way late after the post - but I was looking at moving back to WA and have been looking at homes around Bremerton - its kind of bewildering. I also read that crime has spiked in the past years but after reading your blog, I kind of understand now and it sort of re-affirms my suspicion. Seems like a lot of mortgage troubles and some houses being bought very low to be fixed up and re-sold. I'm ok with that, but seems like Bremerton ran through a bit of disparity and I don't mean that in any bad way. I never spent a whole lot of time in Bremerton other than driving off/on the ferry and maybe stopping for a bite or something like that and checking out the scene. But I always had a good impression. I left WA over 10 years ago, so I know a lot has changed. But Bremerton is a dang good town. I don't have any of the accounts below so I am anon.., yeah I keep a tin foil hat handy ;-)
What is the truth about crime and Bremerton? Between the haters and the rose-colored-glasses types, do the statistics really reflect what is going on? Because it seems to be very high for the population, and it's the kind of crime that is rather intrusive and dangerous. I love Kitsap Peninsula but Bremerton still seems sketchy, so it's hard to decide whether to x Bremerton off the list or keep it on there.
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