Foreclosed Properties are Not Being Maintained
The US economy is going through one of its challenging phases. Unemployment is at its peak and people are faltering on mortgage payments. Subsequently, foreclosures are becoming common in various regions. In Fort Lauderdale, foreclosed properties are becoming an eyesore. In fact, the city looks more rundown because of the foreclosed properties.
At various foreclosed houses, the lawns are overgrown with weeds and swimming pools have turned green because of algae. Mosquitoes are breeding freely in some of the water bodies. In fact, many homes are below the 2004 standards, the enforcement records reveal this.
The record logbooks are replete with references to “trashy homes and overgrown lawns et al. Most Americans want to know how the city can be kept clean. South Florida, for instance, has been hit by a deluge of foreclosures. People are losing homes almost everyday. Mike Maloney of Fort Lauderbale says that there has been no respite from foreclosures. He also says that banks are better at keeping the properties clean.
Fifty six year old Thomas Petkevich had lost his home to foreclosure and he blames a city code financing for the state of his house. His fee was $250 per day and many like him were forced to cough up an extraordinary amount when they failed to pay for a few successive months. Petkevich laments that he did not even earn that amount and yet the enforcement agencies expect him to pay that. He says that they officials are harassing him.
These cases come up for hearing in the City Hall and Petkevich says he was not given the opportunity to present his case well. Petkevich now lives on rent and he says that it breaks his heart every time he thinks about the incident.
People like Maloney are trying hard to keep the city clean. They try not to fleece money from people. By June 2008, the enforcers had filed 8792 cases. The number of cases had dropped to 7,949 this year. Northwest Fort Lauderdale Commissioner Bobby DuBose says that individuals are not being able to maintain foreclosed properties. Rather banks are maintaining these homes better.
Experts agree that the housing market is in doldrums. The situation will be bad so long as
the economy is depressed. The need of the hour is to create more jobs. As more people find employment, they will be able to maintain their homes.