Public Works: Defaulted mortgages put strain on local groups

Special to the News & Messenger
Published: May 25, 2008

Editor’s Note: This is the sixth of seven articles celebrating Public Works Week. Articles focus on reducing waste, protecting water quality, dealing with problem pests, historic preservation, improving neighborhoods, steps the county is taking to conserve fuel and tips for the community to save gas, building in Prince William with a bit about going green.

Most people wouldn’t think that defaulted mortgages are a concern to a county’s public works department. However, vacated properties have a huge impact on Prince William County’s Neighborhood Services which must handle the effects of an empty home on a neighborhood. Trash and items left behind, tall grass, unlocked doors and windows and houses that are not maintained are all the responsibility of Neighborhood Services in the Department of Public Works.

Neighborhood Services consists of three branches and all three have duties that are tied to foreclosures. The three branches are Property Code Enforcement, Litter Crew and Neighborhood Coordination.
Property Code Enforcement is tasked with getting property owners to comply with county codes. Inspectors investigate complaints and, if the complaint is found to be a violation, they will proceed with action to get the violation corrected.

Foreclosed homes complicate the process for Property Code Inspectors. The status of “foreclosure” means that the house and land have become the property of the lending institution. Lending institutions may be located anywhere across the country. Often, lending institutions sell mortgages, moving the ownership from lender to lender. This makes it difficult for the inspector to find the responsible party’s address to issue the violation notice, adding time and extra work to the case.

Neighborhood Services’ Litter Crew has had additional tasks to perform because of the foreclosed homes. The Litter Crew is staffed to clean designated major roadways but has been asked to pick up piles of abandoned belongings and trash left on the street in front of foreclosed homes.

The Litter Crew has made several hundred of these special pick ups since last summer. They also sponsor County Clean Ups, where large open-top trash bins are brought to sites around the county.

Residents can bring trash and items that are not collected in regular trash collections. As residents have to leave homes that are going into foreclosure, they bring the items to the clean ups. At two of the clean ups already this year, the crew had a hard time keeping up with the amount of trash.

The Neighborhood Coordinator works with leaders of community groups to improve their skills and knowledge so that the neighborhood is better equipped to deal with issues. These days, vacant homes are the biggest challenge facing community groups. Litter collects at empty homes; the grass grows tall, and when repairs need to be made on the home, there is no one there to do it. These homes can contribute to the deterioration of the neighborhood.

The Neighborhood Coordinator acts as a clearinghouse for strategies to deal with tall grass and litter. Neighbors can contact a realtor to get permission to go on private property to remove litter or mow the grass.

Much more information is available on the redesigned Prince William County government Web site at http://www.pwcgov.org. Click on Residents and the Neighborhood topic to view the resources available from your Public Works Neighborhood Services Division.

This article provided by the Prince William County Department of Public Works.