$10,000 bond approved for banks with vacant properties in Lorain
Lorain, OH: A strong statement is coming out of the city council of Lorain in its efforts to stem the tide of vacant houses dotting the landscape. The council vote that came in favor of registration requirements for structures could also require a bond with the city, a $10,000 cash bond.
The council’s proposition would have an owner of any abandoned or vacant residential property pay $125 to register and have a contact that lives in the city of age 21 or older to operate as a recipient for any code violations. For those owners of properties not following the registration guidelines, a $50 per day fine would begin to accrue, with a cap of $1,000.
Following that, all banks controlling property would be required to give the city a $10,000 bond to be used to cover any code violations not addressed in a timely fashion, instead of using money from the city coffers to field the violations.
Part of the decision for the bond comes from the estimated cost for demolition of a home amounting to $10,000. In an article in the Chronicle-Telegram, Mayor Chase Ritenauer said, “Ultimately this allows us to ensure these financial institutions have something at stake as opposed to foreclosing on a property and sitting on it.”
Such bonds have not been the norm as cities across the country instigate vacant property registries, but due to the attentiveness many cities have for successful measures for property registration in other communities, bonds of this sort could become more prevalent.
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