Foreclosures Give South Florida A Shabby Scraggy Look

Enforcement officer Paulina Vial is moving around in Miramar Parkway throwing mosquito repellants into deserted swimming pools. She alone is handling 65 cases dealing with abandoned properties sitting on various stages of foreclosure. Paulina is walking through elephantine grasses past innumerable violation notices. Unable to sell the house the owners have just walked away.

The authorities are in a real fix throwing tablets the size of hockey balls to stop mosquito breeding. This will not clear the muck however. Neighbouring occupants are repeatedly complaining about the state of the area – uncut lawns and pools without protective railings.

In Boynton Beach the figure was one foreclosure for every 50 derelict properties. But today it is one out of every ten. Houses are being broken into by drug abusers and prostitutes. The problem is slowing becoming alarming. The owners are indifferent to area code violations and the authorities are not equipped to tackle this sort of unforeseen situation. Under ordinary circumstances the owner is fined for failing to clip lawns or clear trash. If the fine is not paid then the dues of the municipality are realized by selling the unit. But the foreclosure matter is a different issue. With a lien on the house the lender has the priority to claim the dues and then if there is anything left over the local authorities can take it. Usually there is nothing in the form of extras. So the local authorities find it difficult to operate without funds and this gives rise to public ire.

Usually the local officials cannot enter the property of others. But when there is an emergency concerning safety and health they are authorized to take steps. In Worth the local administrator has on his hands about 26 properties that require boarding up to forestall it being taken over by gangs and prostitutes. These houses are jinxed. Neither the lender nor borrower is being able to sell or rent them. They do not have the right to even give these away.

In Coral Spring the city father’s are worried that overgrown lawns and stinking pools attract snakes and other rodents. Health becomes at stake. Children might drown in these open death holes breeding mosquitoes.

Banks foreclosing the properties are being told to look after the units. They agree primarily but in reality they are reluctant until acquiring full ownership.

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