Foreclosed homes on First Coast often become neighborhood eyesores
Empty, uncared-for homes hurt those living nearby who want to sell.
Posted: January 17, 2012 - 8:25pm  |  Updated: January 18, 2012 - 10:38am
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Growing problem
Not all the complaints that counties receive about distressed-looking properties are because of foreclosures, but the numbers have grown since the Jacksonville housing market tanked four years ago:
By Adam Kealoha Causey 
FLEMING ISLAND - Gaps in a wooden fence give glimpses into the back yard of a house on Suwannee River Drive. In the front, oranges decay in a mailbox with the door ripped off.
A stringy, blue tarpaulin covers the roof, giving the deceptive look of hurricane damage.
But closer examination shows the weather has taken a serious toll on just one house among about 80 in Clay County’s Riverbend subdivision.
Neighbors say the blighted and empty property is the result of a different kind of perfect storm: the U.S. foreclosure crisis and the local governments that were not prepared to handle the code enforcement mess that followed.
The house on Suwannee River Drive is one among thousands of structures in Northeast Florida that lie somewhere in distressed-sale status, meaning owners stopped paying the mortgage. The slow foreclosure process leaves many residents frustrated and government officials saying mortgage holders should do more to keep structures and lawns in good shape.
Some homeowners who would like to sell their own places are concerned they won’t be able to because of dilapidated houses in their neighborhoods.
Other Riverbend home-owners have covered the costs of cutting grass the last few years at the home, according to the organization. They started a letter-writing and phone-call campaign with the County Commission, and tried placing a lien on the owner — listed as Wells Fargo with the tax assessor.
But nothing has changed.
Neighbor Jerry Booth said he expects more from the county and bank.
“The cost of tarp replacements alone would have gone a long way toward replacing the roof,” Booth said. He and other neighbors don’t know for sure how many roof wrappings have been placed there, but they’re a temporary fix to what is really needed: a new roof.
Wells Fargo did not respond specifically to issues with the house in Riverbend. But Hugh Rowden, who handles property preservation for the bank’s Southern states including Florida, said the lending company inspects its properties through contractors that keep grass cut.
Listing vacant homes
Clay County doesn’t yet track vacant homes, but it soon will take a cue from Jacksonville, which started keeping a list in 2010. It requires and charges mortgage companies to register their property with the city.
Liens levied against owners who receive citations for overgrown or junky yards help defray the use of taxpayer dollars to cut grass on private property. The city could not provide specific figures on how much that costs.
As of last week, the city’s vacant registry included more than 10,100 homes where owners have stopped paying mortgages, are in the court foreclosure process or could soon be sold at auction. Almost 800 are registered as bank-owned.
Empty, uncared-for homes hurt those living nearby who want to sell.
Posted: January 17, 2012 - 8:25pm  |  Updated: January 18, 2012 - 10:38am
________________________________________
Growing problem
Not all the complaints that counties receive about distressed-looking properties are because of foreclosures, but the numbers have grown since the Jacksonville housing market tanked four years ago:
By Adam Kealoha Causey 
FLEMING ISLAND - Gaps in a wooden fence give glimpses into the back yard of a house on Suwannee River Drive. In the front, oranges decay in a mailbox with the door ripped off.
A stringy, blue tarpaulin covers the roof, giving the deceptive look of hurricane damage.
But closer examination shows the weather has taken a serious toll on just one house among about 80 in Clay County’s Riverbend subdivision.
Neighbors say the blighted and empty property is the result of a different kind of perfect storm: the U.S. foreclosure crisis and the local governments that were not prepared to handle the code enforcement mess that followed.
The house on Suwannee River Drive is one among thousands of structures in Northeast Florida that lie somewhere in distressed-sale status, meaning owners stopped paying the mortgage. The slow foreclosure process leaves many residents frustrated and government officials saying mortgage holders should do more to keep structures and lawns in good shape.
Some homeowners who would like to sell their own places are concerned they won’t be able to because of dilapidated houses in their neighborhoods.
Other Riverbend home-owners have covered the costs of cutting grass the last few years at the home, according to the organization. They started a letter-writing and phone-call campaign with the County Commission, and tried placing a lien on the owner — listed as Wells Fargo with the tax assessor.
But nothing has changed.
Neighbor Jerry Booth said he expects more from the county and bank.
“The cost of tarp replacements alone would have gone a long way toward replacing the roof,” Booth said. He and other neighbors don’t know for sure how many roof wrappings have been placed there, but they’re a temporary fix to what is really needed: a new roof.
Wells Fargo did not respond specifically to issues with the house in Riverbend. But Hugh Rowden, who handles property preservation for the bank’s Southern states including Florida, said the lending company inspects its properties through contractors that keep grass cut.
Listing vacant homes
Clay County doesn’t yet track vacant homes, but it soon will take a cue from Jacksonville, which started keeping a list in 2010. It requires and charges mortgage companies to register their property with the city.
Liens levied against owners who receive citations for overgrown or junky yards help defray the use of taxpayer dollars to cut grass on private property. The city could not provide specific figures on how much that costs.
As of last week, the city’s vacant registry included more than 10,100 homes where owners have stopped paying mortgages, are in the court foreclosure process or could soon be sold at auction. Almost 800 are registered as bank-owned.
The city doesn’t know how many of those have been cited for property standards violations, but Kimberly Scott, head of Jacksonville’s municipal code compliance division, said the effort is working for the city. It’s holding banks accountable.
“Many of these lenders are not local, so they don’t really put an emphasis on maintaining the property and on local code enforcement,” Scott said.
It’s also helped compliance officers be proactive. More than 60 percent of citations handed out are the result of something a staffer spotted.
“They go street-by-street looking for code enforcement issues,” Scott said, adding that it helps neighbors. “If you keep your house maintained properly, you don’t want the next-door property to look as if there’s nobody living there.”
Property owners can be cited for allowing grass or weeds to grow tall or for not keeping doors and windows locked or boarded up if a building is empty.
Clay County is receiving proposals from contractors that would register the county’s vacant homes. A system should be in place in February.
“The goal was to get the properties clean,” said County Commission Chairman Doug Conkey, whose proposal to keep a registry of vacant homes became law in September.
But enforcement isn’t perfect. Some Jacksonville residents feel like their blocks still slip through the cracks.
Homes not secured
Donna Whyte lives in Bartram Springs, where she said a vacant house across from hers on Cherry Lake Drive East has been the continual victim of vandals.
Most recently, Jacksonville firefighters responded Jan. 6 to an intentionally set blaze there. Authorities are investigating.
“No one is able to secure the home,” Whyte said. “Not fire officials nor police.”
Keith Faust is in the same boat. His neighborhood nuisance is on Smallwood Road, near the intersection of University Boulevard at Commodore Point Expressway. While he hasn’t trespassed to check for himself, he believes the bank-owned house’s copper tubing as been stripped.
Faust hopes to be able to sell his house. It needs some work, but putting in the money could turn out to be a waste if he can’t sell because of the nearby property.
“I don’t think banks want to be known as homeowners. They don’t want to own the property,” Faust said. “They’re just in a tsunami of problems right now.”
Rowden, of Wells Fargo, admits the sheer number of home foreclosures is daunting. The company, he said, puts a priority on keeping the structures occupied and helping residents make payments.
Since 2009, Wells Fargo has modified more than 600,000 home mortgages, according to company statistics. Rowden said 80 percent of Wells Fargo customers who reach out to the bank when they are two months behind on their mortgage payments avoid foreclosure. That ranges from helping them set up personal budgets to lowering mortgage payments and tapping into federal money available for struggling homeowners.
Wells Fargo also gives away homes, including more than 1,200 in 2011, according to company statistics. About 90 of those were in Florida. The company gave one to a Jacksonville veteran during the Taxslayer.com Gator Bowl Jan. 2.
“Foreclosure is not good for the homeowner, it’s not good for the community, and it’s not good for the bank either,” Rowden said.
Back in Fleming Island, residents like Fred Mendez know that all too well. His house on Little River Drive, within eyeshot of the blue tarp on Suwannee River Drive, has been on the market since June. He’s gotten one offer with almost daily showings.
His job is supposed to transfer him to Puerto Rico in February, and he’s not sure what will happen if he can’t sell by then.
Mendez says what he believes is a mold-filled house down the road doesn’t help his chances. He feels let down by the county and banks.
But the problem is way bigger than just his block.
“Right now it’s a buyer’s market anyway,” Rowden said. “It’s going to take awhile to get back to where we used to be.”

Read more at Jacksonville.com: http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2012-01-17/story/foreclosed-homes-first-coast-often-become-neighborhood-eyesores#ixzz1k2Js0VbH