Another California City Passes Ordinance Requiring Registration Of Vacant Foreclosures; Violators Face Fines, Criminal Prosecution

In Indio, California, The Desert Sun reports:

• The abandoned, foreclosed home on Caribe Street looked OK from the outside. Inside, it was obvious that squatters - homeless people who stay the night in vacant houses - had invaded. Plates with crusted food, empty beer cans and pillows were strewn throughout the home. Used, wadded-up toilet paper piled high in the bathrooms.

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• It's a scene that's starting to crop up in neighborhoods across the valley - a byproduct of skyrocketing foreclosures. Indio, with nearly 1,500 homes in foreclosure in the city's limits, is leading valley cities in taking a stand. A new law goes into effect April 4 targeting abandoned homes with overgrown landscaping, stagnant pools and other eyesores that scream "empty" to squatters. The law requires that abandoned properties be registered with the city and maintained. If not, the owner - usually the bank in foreclosed situations - could face fines or criminal prosecution. [...] Other Coachella Valley cities are following.

For more, see Negligent owners in Indio could be fined (As foreclosure rates hit all-time highs, valley cities explore ways to keep empty houses from attracting vagrants).

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