A human interest piece, coming from the Dayton Daily News that really expresses the way that foreclosures affect not just the home owner, but the neighborhood too.
Every day, free advertising leaflets are dropped off on the driveway of the vacant house next to Bob Johnson’s home.
And every week, he goes next door to pick up the paper piles.
The lawn is being mowed, but Johnson feels the unoccupied house could use some work. The realtor rarely comes by so trash duty has fallen into the hands of the neighbors.
The home has been empty for a year and the the neighborhood is dealing with the ramifications of it.
Johnson, of course, worries that the value of his home as well as the surrounding area will go down. He’s aware of other neighbors considering letting their homes go to foreclosure.
He has good reason to worry.
While some banks, which own the homes after foreclosures, hire private contractors to mow the lawns, city departments often end up with extra duties and costs.
Beavercreek Code Enforcement Officer Matt Funk said his department often has to track down the bank that owns the property and fine them if the property is not up to code. But taxpayers never pay because the city has another option.
“From the city’s perspective, we would try to bill the person responsible,” Funk said. “It turns into a lien on the property tax and is passed on to the owner once the land is purchased.”
This is a problem for the city’s too. Different areas deal with this issue differently. In some neighborhoods, nothing is done — and the home is left to disrepair, grass dies and the home becomes a blight on the neighborhood, affecting other properties values too.
While some neighbors like Johnson in Harrison Twp. have decided to take it upon themselves to care for empty properties, the cities haven’t seen an increase of those willing to do so.
And actually, Dayton’s Brinegar says they shouldn’t.
“Technically they are trespassing, that’s the simple answer,” he said. “A lot of these properties are labeled by the city: Do not enter.”
Seems you’re damned if you do, and damned if you don’t!
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