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Sam Morris / FILE
Local governments are dealing in different ways with owners that won’t maintain homes, like this one with a neglected pool, after foreclosures.
By Conor Shine (contact) 
Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2011 | 2 a.m.
Sun Archives
Opinion
- We may need to rebuild Las Vegas — literally (11-6-2011)
- Steps to fixing the economy (11-5-2011)
To combat the glut of blighted, vacant homes plaguing its neighborhoods, Las Vegas is working to create a registry to monitor foreclosed properties and hold their owners accountable for their upkeep.
A proposed ordinance would set up a program that would require owners of vacant properties that have gone into foreclosure to register with the city and hire a property maintenance company to provide “a limited level” of ongoing maintenance.
“The problem we’re having is once a property is in foreclosure and the borrower has vacated the property, the property isn’t being properly maintained,” code enforcement manager Mike Bouse said. “That lack of maintenance is creating problems … some are becoming health hazards, they create opportunity for illegal acts and crimes, they affect property values of adjacent properties.”
The ordinance would require banks or other institutions taking over foreclosed homes to inspect and secure the properties, maintain the landscaping, keep pools clean and remove any litter on the site. Failure to comply could result in civil or criminal misdemeanor charges.
According to Bouse, 80 percent of foreclosed properties in Las Vegas are vacant, and about half of those vacancies are owned by lenders. In August, Bouse said more than 300 properties in the city went into foreclosure and became vacant.
“(The ordinance) provides a useful tool for code enforcement … in terms of helping maintain these properties,” he said.
The program would be funded by a one-time $200 registration fee charged to property owners of the vacant homes.
Bouse said the city has held meetings with local and national banks, credit unions and Realtors to craft the ordinance, which is modeled on similar laws in cities across the country.
The issue was discussed Tuesday morning at the City Council’s recommending committee meeting and was approved for a final vote by the full council on Dec. 7.
The bill was initially brought up at a recommending committee this month, but was delayed to make some changes to address concerns from bankers and Realtors, as well to clarify questions raised by council members, city spokesman Jace Radke said.
Councilman Steve Ross, who is sponsoring the bill, said vacant homes are becoming a blight on neighborhoods and he hopes other local governments will follow the Las Vegas’ lead in monitoring these properties.
“The city of Las Vegas is the epicenter of this nightmare … It’s something we need to take care of and do the best we can as a government,” Ross said. “Any resident (can) drive through a beautiful neighborhood and easily pick out foreclosure after foreclosure because properties are in disrepair.”
These should be made the home of mortgage loan officers that made millions in commissions handing out bogus loans. Let them mow the grass.
Tear them down, the only value they have is to destroy the real state all around them.
What about the abandoned homes the banks have not foreclosed on. Delaying the foreclosure allows the banks to dodge HOA fees and keep the bad loans off the books.
I really do loathe politicians and government employees. And, this is coming from a man who has worked in several different capacities for the government almost my entire adult life. I spent the majority of those years fighting corruption, ineptness, and just plain lazyness and stupidity. This article above is a prime depiction of this. We have politicians attempting to pass legislation to make the owners of foreclosed properties responsible for the upkeep? What the heck does Code Enforcement manager Mike Bouse mean when he says this legislation sponsored by Councilman Steve Ross, is an ordinance that provides a useful tool for code enforcement " in terms of helping maintain these properties." Code enforcement authorities do not need this legislation passed to take stern actions against property owners who are letting their premises become an eye sore, or a hazard to public safety and or health. What makes the difference whether Code Enforcement is dealing with a citizen of the community, or a business, such as a bank or credit union?
Here is the perfect scenario to prove my point. My son and his wife live in a house that is well kept. For their dog, they have a kennel in their backyard that is well dressed with nice looking netting on the top and side panels. Code enforcement actually had the nerve to come uninvited on his property and tell my son, "Your kennel is too close to your wall. It must by code, be ten feet away from your wall. You have ten working days to rectify this problem or you will face fines and penalties." Now, several doors down from my son is a foreclosed home. Weeds and trash all over the property and several broken windows. From what I could see in this backyard, their was a filthy pool with stagnant moldy looking green colored water in it. Now what do you think this Code Enforcement officer did when he left my son's property? You got it!!! He drove right past the foreclosed home and paid absolutely no attention to it.
Always excuses why not to have to take the extra mile in your duties. But, you people in Code Enforcement, you all can't even do what is expected of you. Obtaining compliance with decaying foreclosed homes should have been, all along, your number one civic priority. Here again, more and more of our tax dollars exposed that are wasted on government employees who do not have the citizens best interests at heart that they work for. Boo-hoo to every one of you!!!
BChap, I've had similar experiance. For the pool, you need to call Public Health. They put fish in it the foreclosed house next to me. I finally started picking up all the trash and even treated it with powerful ortho weed killer. Nothing but rocks afterward. The house bedrooms were on my side so I had flood lights on all night. I kept a watch on it well. I'm glad it finally sold recently to good neighbors.
By fining the lending institution to maintain "their property", hopefully it will encourage them to speed up the purchasing process for potential buyers. It's rediculous to wait 6 months to see if you got the property or not.
"Code enforcement actually had the nerve to come uninvited on his property and tell my son, "Your kennel is too close to your wall..."
BChap -- at last something we can agree on! This is where the Constitutional promise against unreasonable searches comes into play. Without an exigent circumstance -- i.e., the kennel was on fire -- to come onto private property uninvited requires a warrant. The incident's broader point is your son and family is in residence while the foreclosed property is vacant, meaning he will likely respond to the summons, pay the fine, etc., otherwise enhancing the code cop's job security. The foreclosed property is likely owned by one of those monolith bank corps who really don't care what that municipal twerp sends them.
The is the price we all pay as citizens for neglecting our civic duties is laws like this burrowing deeper and deeper into our lives and properties where they were never meant to go. As you can see from below, the problem is everywhere, and it's getting worse. This is what I mean by the police state.
"Where once the criminal law might have stood as a well-understood and indisputable statement of shared norms in American society, now there is only a bloated compendium that looks very much like the dreaded federal tax code. The end results can be downright ugly: a soccer mom thrown in jail in a small Texas town for failing to wear a seatbelt; a 12-year-old girl arrested and handcuffed for eating french fries in a Metro station in Washington, DC; and defendants serving 25-year to life sentences in California prisons for, among other things, pilfering a slice of pizza." -- "Overextending the Criminal Law" @ http://www.cato.org/pubs/policy_report/v...
To "KillerB", you said, "BChap -- at last something we can agree on!" In actuality there is a lot that I agree with you on and even more that I learn from your wealth of knowledge. Of course, on occasion when I feel maybe I've been insulted by a person of greater intellect, my seemingly everlasting street demeanor begins to surface. Nothing personal I assure you. Just an old man and his harmless defense mechanisms at work. "KillerB", see you on the next page of the Las Vegas Sun comments section.
Maybe we need another 8k home tax credit? That worked so well the first time to reduce inventory.
It's sad, I feel bad for people stuck in a 30 year with these "things". Only going to get worse as the housing market continues it's slide to the abyss.
Just remember you have multiple government programs to help prop this market up for the past few years. Wait until all of that ends. Also most of the houses are owned by amateur investors that will soon realize being a landlord isn't so fun.