Gov. Rick Scott said Tuesday he was
caught aback by the Sun Sentinel’s investigation of how banks have established
foreclosure practices that have left thousands of South Florida homes to decay,
devastating neighborhoods.
“Maybe I don’t ask enough questions
about it, and I will now,” he said in response to a series of articles the
newspaper published this week regarding bad-neighbor banks.
The Sun Sentinel found that some
banks evade responsibility for abandoned homes they hold title to, and banks
and their agents act in ways that leave other vacant properties in legal limbo.
The result is homes no one wants to live next to, much less buy.
They have algae-filled pools,
knee-high grass, trash-strewn yards, broken windows, missing doors, peeling
paint, mold, and uninvited tenants such as squatters, raccoons or rats.
Scott said his initial, gut-level
reaction was that the problem was not so much the behavior of the banks but the
poor condition of Florida’s economy. “The real solution is more jobs,” he said,
repeating a common theme he has championed as the cure-all for most of
Florida’s ills.
The article then goes on to say…
When it comes to holding banks
accountable for maintaining abandoned homes, Scott sounded reluctant to act. He
said he feared that banks will not lend, or will raise the cost of lending, if
faced with additional state regulations.
“We want them to lend, and we want
the interest rates as low as possible,” he said.
Other states, such as New Jersey and
New York, have adopted laws requiring banks to keep up the maintenance of
vacant homes in the midst of foreclosure suits, before getting title. Banks can
be unwilling to tend to homes they don’t own, for fear the owner has not truly
abandoned the property.
Asked if a similar law could be
passed in Florida, the governor said it could be done, but “somebody’s going to
pay for it.” The banks, he said, likely will not take on more responsibility
without foisting the cost onto consumers somewhere down the line.
Instead, Scott said, he favors
expediting the foreclosure process so homes don’t sit empty for so long. A bill
to do just that failed in the Senate this year among strong opposition from
consumer rights groups who thought it did not have enough protections for
homeowners.
The governor also said he would like
for Florida to take the entire foreclosure process out of the hands of the
courts and, instead, permit lenders to foreclose without a judge’s approval, as
they do in California, Texas and some other states.
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