By: North County Times Opinion staff
Our view: Options other than boarding up homes should be pursued
Stock losses can be hidden, but it's hard not to notice when banks and other lending institutions start evicting people. Homes go dark, yards grow weeds, and pools stagnate. When mortgage companies can't or won't pay for the upkeep of foreclosed homes, cities feel obligated to step in. As empty homes become a common feature in many of the region's neighborhoods, at least one city ---- Escondido ---- has sprung into action. In fact, its code enforcement officers have already boarded up four homes. While admirable, Escondido's enthusiasm in responding to this problem probably creates more problems than it solves. Before other cities follow its lead, perhaps they should give some thought to alternatives.
Boarded up homes advertise to every bored teenager, petty criminal or other ne'er-do-well that a dwelling is vacant and available for mischievous deeds. No piece of plywood will keep them from breaking into an empty home. Rather than benefit neighborhoods, boarded homes attract crime and blight. Common-sense alternatives could include simple solutions such as turning the lights on and picking up mail that's accumulating in the driveway.
This link between foreclosures and crime is more than just speculative. Studies show that even small increases in the number of foreclosures lead to higher levels of violent crime. Housing expert Dan Immergluck of the Georgia Institute of Technology and a colleague found that an increase of about 2.8 foreclosures for every 100 homes in one year corresponds to an increase in neighborhood violent crime of approximately 6.7 percent.
In contrast to Escondido, the Southwest Riverside County city of Murrieta is considering an ordinance that could force lenders to begin maintaining properties earlier in the foreclosure process, which can often take months.
In pursuing this idea, Murrieta is basing its effort on a similar ordinance that takes effect next month in Chula Vista, a city south of San Diego. That law requires lenders to pay a $70 fee and hire property management firms to take care of vacant houses. The first notice of default triggers the ordinance.
Admittedly, tracking down lenders isn't always easy, and, once found, some are more responsive than others. But cities need to make owners, whether they're people or corporations, responsible for maintaining their property. If they refuse, cities should consider placing liens on the homes. They can then use the money from those liens, or from the type of fees being charged in Chula Vista, to install timer lights and mow front lawns instead of nailing up boards.
As foreclosures and crime start to tick up, a snowball effect is created that drags down the entire housing market. It's no coincidence that the ordinance adopted by Chula Vista has its origin in similar laws first passed in big cities, like Detroit, that struggled with crime and desolate urban centers filled with empty buildings.
The problem is likely to get worse before it gets better. In San Diego County foreclosures ---- at 1,174 ---- are up 487 percent from the same period in 2006 and are at the highest number for any quarter since 1988. In Escondido, around 200 homes are currently in the midst of foreclosure proceedings, and banks and mortgage companies are the official owners of only about half of them.
The problem is worse in Riverside County. In the Southwest portion of the county alone, 4,400 houses are in the foreclosure process. Approximately 1,500 of those properties are in Murrieta.
Unless cities like Escondido want to board up hundreds of homes, they'll have to explore other options. After all, these homes aren't truly abandoned. They have owners and those owners should be held accountable.