NEW YORK – July 30, 2008 – A growing number of municipalities are charging mortgage companies fees to cover the cost of maintenance on vacant properties.

These levies can be stiff, averaging $500 a year. If a lender doesn’t put a maintenance plan in place quickly, some communities are also assessing punitive damages that can amount to $1,000 a day. Unpaid levies are tacked onto the lender’s property-tax bill.

William Good is commissioner of inspectional services for Boston, where the city is requiring that owners of vacant properties hire a local property manager to be responsible for inspecting the property monthly and maintaining it.

"The idea is to get some responsibility so these buildings don't sit there and have a negative impact on the community while people argue about who is responsible,” Good says.

The Mortgage Bankers Association says that mortgage companies are committed to maintaining vacant properties.

Source: The Wall Street Journal, Ruth Simon (07/29/08)