2 Inland cities crack down on owners of foreclosed properties

Two cities in the Inland Empire rocked by the foreclosure crisis are imposing new fees and fines on the owners of homes in distress. KPCC’s Steven Cuevas has more.

Steven Cuevas: Redlands is requiring owners of foreclosed properties to pay an $82 registration fee.

Gary Van Dorst: So that we can have a handle on monitoring the maintenance of those properties.

Cuevas: Gary Van Dorst is the quality of life director in Redlands. He says the fee will help the city recover the cost of identifying and monitoring derelict houses to make sure they don’t end up looking like the abandoned properties they are.

Van Dorst: This is a city that places a great deal of importance on improving the city’s curb appeal, and that means maintaining property at a higher standard.

Cuevas: Redlands is also targeting bargain hunters who scoop up foreclosed properties as a primary residence, or to flip for a profit. It requires them to get the house up to code within a month, or face steep fines – a thousand bucks a day – and possible jail time. Gary Van Dorst:

Van Dorst: I think the real point of this is to provide our code enforcement officers another tool for addressing the property maintenance issues associated with abandoned properties. That’s really the focus.

Cuevas: Thirty miles away in Canyon Lake, homeowners have just 15 days to meet that city’s maintenance requirements before code enforcement officers hit them with fines. And under new law in effect this week, owners of distressed properties in Canyon Lake have to pay a yearly registration fee of $130.