Easton and Bethlehem officials have passed foreclosed property registration laws similar to one Allentown put into effect in December.
Bethlehem and Easton are joining Allentown in being able to better enforce code violations at foreclosed properties.
In December, Allentown passed a law that requires mortgage companies to register with the city when any of their mortgages go into default. This allows cities to more easily track down owners if the property falls into disrepair, officials said.
Allentown’s foreclosed property registration has been a success so far, said David Paulus, Allentown’s director of building standards.
“It makes it easier for our inspectors and it’s helpful to our neighbors,” he said. “They’re the ones that suffer the most.”
Bethlehem and Easton have decided to follow suit. Easton City Council adopted its own abandoned property ordinance earlier this month and Bethlehem’s Community Development Committee approved one tonight.
Easton in recent years has passed several new laws to combat vacant and blighted properties and the foreclosed property registry is one more tool, Mayor Sal Panto Jr. said.
“The foreclosures are the hardest ones to find the owners because banks often sell to other banks,” Panto said. “It can take employees several hours, and they may still not find out who it is.”
Bethlehem doesn’t have a major foreclosure problem but the city wants to address the pockets of foreclosures in the city, said Joe Kelly, Bethlehem’s director of community and economic development.
“It is a big problem in neighborhoods where there are foreclosed properties and no one is taking care of them,” he said. “It’s just an opportunity for us to be a little more aggressive for our neighborhoods to remain clean and remain strong.”
Bethlehem resident Jim DeFrancisco told city officials tonight that the new law is desperately needed to help combat the four vacant homes in his Bethlehem neighborhood, including one right next door.
“There’s dead animals in the backyard — the house looks terrible,” he said. “I think we better move on this ordinance.”
All three ordinances legally require mortgage companies to file default loans with the city. On bank-owned properties, it also makes the banks liable to maintain the property, officials said.
Allentown has partnered with Federal Property Registration Corp. to contact mortgage companies and ensure they’re complying, Paulus said. The company gets half of Allentown’s $200 property registration fee for its services, he said.
Easton and Bethlehem officials also said they plan to hire private companies to run their cities’ foreclosure registration programs.
Bethlehem’s ordinance also includes a $200 registration fee while Easton’s is $250 for the first year with annual increases up to $5,000 a year in the 10th year, Panto said. Easton won’t charge property owners who are making progress on foreclosed or vacant properties, he said.