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Home > Leaf Talk > Neighborhood > Zoning & Redevelopment > Foreclosure Property Ordinance
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Foreclosure Property Ordinance
Started July 14, 2010 @ 11:24pm by Gene Schmidt - Zoning Emeritus
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Gene Schmidt - Zoning Emeritus
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Posts: 105 |
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Gene Schmidt - Zoning Emeritus
Moderator
Posts: 105 |
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| Wording of Proposed Ordinance | July 26, 2010 @ 7:26pm | ORDINANCE
An ordinance to create the DeKalb County Foreclosure Registry Program, and to implement penalties for violations of the DeKalb County Code.
THE PEOPLE OF THE DEKALB COUNTY
DO ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
FORECLOSURE REGISTRY PROGRAM
TITLE.
This article shall be known as the DeKalb County Foreclosure Registry Program.
INTENT.
It is the intent of the DeKalb County Board of Commissioners, through the adoption of this chapter, to establish an abandoned residential property registration program as a mechanism to protect residential neighborhoods from becoming blighted through the lack of adequate maintenance and security of abandoned properties as a result of the foreclosure crisis.
DEFINITIONS.
The following words and phrases, whenever used in this article, shall be construed as defined in this section unless the context within individual section clearly indicates otherwise.
A. "Abandoned" means a property that is vacant and is under a Notice of Default and/or Notice of Trustee's Sale, pending tax assessor's lien sale and/or properties that have been the subject of a previous foreclosure sale in which title was retained by the beneficiary of a deed of trust involved in the foreclosure and any properties transferred under a deed in lieu of foreclosure and/or sale.
B. "Assignment of rents" means an instrument that transfers the beneficial interest under a deed of trust from one lender/entity to another.
C. "Beneficiary" means a lender under a note secured by a deed of trust.
D. "Days" means consecutive calendar days.
E. "Deed of Trust" means an instrument by which title to real estate is transferred to a third party trustee as security for a real estate loan. This definition applies to all deeds of trust regardless of priority.
F. "Deed in lieu of foreclosure and/or sale" means a recorded document that transfers ownership of a property from the trustor upon consent of the beneficiary of the deed of trust.
G. "Default" means the failure to fulfill a contractual obligation, monetary or nonmonetary.
H. "Foreclosure" means the process by which a property, placed as security for a real estate loan, is sold at auction to satisfy the debt if the trustor (borrower) defaults.
I. "Local" means within 100 road/driving miles distance of the subject property.
J. "Notice of default" means a recorded notice that a default has occurred under a deed of trust.
K. "Out of Area" means in excess of 100 road/driving miles distance of the subject property.
L. "Property" means any unimproved or improved residential real property or portion thereof, situated in DeKalb County and includes the buildings or structures located on the property regardless of condition.
M. "Property in Foreclosure" means any Property upon which a Notice of Default has been issued by a lender, mortgagee, or beneficiary of any deed of trust.
N. “Trustee" means the person, firm or corporation holding a deed of trust on a property.
O. "Trustor" means a borrower under a deed of trust, who deeds property to a trustee as security for the payment of a debt.
RECORDATION OF TRANSFER OF LOAN AND/OR DEED OF TRUST AND/ORASSIGNMENT OF RENTS.
Within 10 days of the purchase and/or transfer of a loan and/or deed of trust secured by Property the new beneficiary/trustee shall record, with DeKalb County, an assignment of rents, or similar document, that lists the name of the corporation, and/or individual, the mailing address and contact phone number of the new beneficiary and/or trustee responsible for receiving payments associated with the loan and/or deed of trust.
REGISTRATION OF PROPERTIES IN FORECLOSURE.
Any beneficiary or trustee, who holds, or has an interest in, a deed of trust on a Property in Foreclosure located within DeKalb County, shall register the Property in Foreclosure with the DeKalb County. If the beneficiary or trustee issues a Notice of Default after the Effective Date of this Ordinance, they shall register such property with the County within thirty days of the issuance of such Notice of Default. If the beneficiary or trustee issues a Notice of Default prior to the Effective Date of this Ordinance, and such Notice of Default has not been rescinded, the beneficiary or trustee shall register the Property in Foreclosure with the County within 30 days of the Effective Date of this Ordinance.
The registration requirements of this Ordinance shall be satisfied by providing the County with contact information including street address and telephone number for the person or persons directly responsible for the Property in Foreclosure. If such person or persons are located Out of Area, such person or persons must designate and retain a local individual or local property management company responsible for the security and maintenance of the property. This designation must state the contact information, including street address and phone number for the staff of any applicable property management or property preservation company responsible for the security, maintenance, and marketing of the property. Such person or persons responsible for the property must be empowered to (1) comply with code enforcement orders issued by the County, (2) provide a trespass authorization upon request of local law enforcement authorities if the property is unlawfully occupied, (3) conduct weekly inspections of the Property, (4) accept rental payments from tenants of the property if no management company is otherwise employed for such person.
An annual registration fee in the amount of $155.00 shall be paid to DeKalb County at the time of registration. The fee and registration shall be valid for the calendar year, or remaining portion of the calendar year, in which the registration was initially required. Subsequent registrations and fees are due January 1st of each year and must be received no later than January 31st of the year due.
The registration shall contain the name of the beneficiary and/or trustee (corporation or individual), the direct street and/or office mailing address of the beneficiary and/or trustee (P.O. boxes are insufficient), a direct contact name and phone number for the beneficiary and/or trustee and, in the case of a corporation or Out of Area beneficiary and/or trustee, the local property management company responsible for the security, maintenance and marketing of the property. Registration fees will not be prorated.
Any beneficiary or trustee who holds a deed of trust on a Property in Foreclosure shall perform an inspection of the property that is the security for the deed of trust, upon default by the trustor, prior to recording a Notice of Default with DeKalb County.
If the property is occupied but remains in default it shall be inspected by the beneficiary and/or trustee, or his designee, monthly until the trustor other or party remedies the default.
This section shall also apply to properties that have been the subject of a foreclosure sale where the title was transferred to the beneficiary of a deed of trust involved in the foreclosure and any properties transferred under a deed in lieu of foreclosure/sale.
Properties subject to this chapter shall remain under the annual registration requirement, security and maintenance standards of this section as long as they remain vacant.
Any person, firm or corporation that has registered a property under this chapter must report any change of information contained in the registration with the County within 10 days of the change.
If the County determines that the beneficiary and/or trustee has failed to comply with the registry requirements of this section, the County shall notify the beneficiary and/or trustee at the last known address of the failure to comply with this section. If the beneficiary and/or trustee fails to comply with this section within 30 days of the County’s notification, the beneficiary and/or trustee shall pay a penalty in the amount of $300 per day for each day subsequent to the County’s notification.
MAINTENANCE AND ENFORCEMENT OF MAINTENANCE REQUIREMENTS.
Properties shall be maintained by the beneficiary/trustee in accordance with the standards set forth.
The provisions and all requirements described therein shall apply to properties subject to this section. Should a property be deemed a nuisance, hazardous, or substandard by the County, the abatement procedures may be initiated against beneficiary/trustee by the County.
The property must contain a posting with the name and 24–hour contact phone number of the local individual or property management company responsible for the maintenance. This sign must be posted on the front of the property so it is clearly visible from the street.
Adherence to this section does not relieve the owner of any applicable obligations set forth in code regulations, covenant conditions and restriction and/or homeowners association’s rules and regulations.
MAINTENANCE OF VACANT PROPERTIES AND ENFORCEMENT OF VACANT PROPERTY MAINTENANCE REQUIREMENTS.
If a property subject to this section is found to be vacant, the provisions and all maintenance and security requirements described therein, shall apply. Enforcement by the DeKalb County Code Enforcement Unit shall be pursuant to the provisions.
UTILITIES.
The beneficiary and/or trustee shall ensure that utility services to the property are not terminated if the property is lawfully occupied.
VIOLATION/PENALTY.
Violations of this chapter shall be treated as a strict liability offense regardless of intent. Any person, firm and/or corporation that violates any portion of this section shall be subject to prosecution and/or administrative enforcement under the DeKalb County Code. Administrative penalties imposed pursuant to this ordinance shall not exceed $100,000 per property.
SEVERABILITY.
Should any provision, section, paragraph, sentence or word of this chapter be determined or declared invalid by any final court action in a court of competent jurisdiction or by reason of any preemptive legislation, the remaining provisions, sections, paragraphs, sentences or words of this chapter shall remain in full force and effect.
VACANT STRUCTURE PENALTY.
(a) Any Responsible Person in charge of a structure which meets the definition of a Vacant Structure as provided in this division for 30 consecutive calendar days may be liable for an administrative penalty in the amount of $1000 per structure per day, not to exceed $100,000 per property per calendar year unless:
(1) a Statement of Intent has been filed and approved by the County; and
(2) the building has been posted as required by the DeKalb County Code; and
(3) one of the following applies:
(A) The structure is the subject of an active building permit for repair, rehabilitation or demolition and the owner is proceeding diligently in good faith to complete the repair, rehabilitation or demolition; or,
(B) The structure is maintained in compliance with this division and is actively being offered for sale, lease or rent; or,
(C) The Responsible Person can demonstrate that he or she made a diligent and good faith effort to implement the actions set forth in the approved Statement of Intent within the time line contained within the Statement of Intent.
(b) If the structure continues to meet the definition of Vacant Structure as provided in this division beyond the initial 30 calendar days, and if the Responsible Person does not meet any of the exceptions set forth in this section, the County may impose a penalty of $1000 per structure for each calendar day the structure continues to constitute a Vacant Structure, subject to the limitations set forth in the DeKalb County Code, pursuant to the notice requirements in this division. At no time may the amount of the administrative penalty exceed $100,000 per property in a calendar year.
PROCEDURES FOR BARRICADED AND VACANT STRUCTURE PENALTY.
(a) Whenever the County determines that a structure meets the definition of a Vacant Structure as provided in this division for more than 30 consecutive calendar days, and the Responsible Person does not meet any of the exceptions, a 3-day Notice of Barricaded and Vacant Structure Penalty may be issued to the Responsible Person, and any other person listed in the title report as having an interest in the real property. The Notice of Barricaded and Vacant Structure Penalty shall include a description of the conditions that gave rise to the penalty and notice of the County’s intent to assess an administrative penalty if action to correct the violation is not commenced within a period of not less than 14 days from the date the Notice is mailed, and completed within a period of not less than 30 days from the date the Notice is Mailed.
(b) A separate 3-day Notice of Barricaded and Vacant Structure Penalty shall be issued for each subsequent penalty that may be imposed.
(c) The Notice of Barricaded and Vacant Structure Penalty shall be served on each required person by anyone of the methods of service listed in the DeKalb County Code. |
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Henry Batten-LLCC President
Posts: 17 |
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| Foreclosure Property Ordinance | July 26, 2010 @ 7:57pm | | This sounds like a good ordinance to me. Living next door to a foreclosed property, however, I have not been subjected to any of the neglect that many have. Hopefully this ordinance will keep areas from falling into decline and hold banks and other financial groups responsible for their properties. |
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Gene Schmidt - Zoning Emeritus
Moderator
Posts: 105 |
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| Ordinance Approved | July 27, 2010 @ 11:27pm | | The BOC approved this ordinance on July 27th. |
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