Niagara Falls and the Western New York Law Center announced a new partnership Wednesday that uses the 2016 Zombie Foreclosure Law to ensure the perpetual upkeep of vacant and abandoned residential properties in the city.
Under the law, the lenders or mortgage servicers on such properties are required to maintain them, or regularly visit them to ensure that they are being maintained, said Kate Lockhart, director of the Western New York Law Center’s Vacant and Abandoned Properties Unit.
“Most of the things that are required under the Zombie Foreclosure Law are external,” said Lockhart, referring to rules concerning the outside of properties and making sure they are free of health and safety violations.
That would include making sure the grass surrounding the property is mowed, that its environs are not blighted or a nuisance to neighbors and that it is regularly monitored.
The law requires the bank or servicer to verify whether the property is vacant. If it is, someone from that entity must visit the property every 25 to 30 days after the mortgage holder has either defaulted or fallen behind on their mortgage payments, unless the homeowner is actively pursuing loss mitigation, Lockhart said.
Kearns, a former county and state lawmaker, says there’s a serious and growing problem with more than 10,000 properties across the county that are facing hundreds or thousands of dollars each in late property taxes.
…
Read the full article here
Leave a Reply