Many people may be hesitant to believe that business is booming, but there is a particular profession that is; namely, Property Preservationists for distressed properties.

As reported in the August 13^th Sun-Sentinel, foreclosures have tripled across the nation since 2005.  More and more of these properties are becoming REOs, or “real estate owned,” meaning the bank holds the deed. Before hitting the market, these foreclosed properties need a visit from a Property Preservationist for a ”deep cleaning.”  “Property Preservationists” swoop in to handle various tasks such as removing trash, mowing the lawn, boarding up windows, even asking squatters to find a new place of residence. One such Preservationist “deep cleans” between 10 and 20 REOs in a typical week, in addition to inspecting 90 structures and securing 20 others.

“Nobody likes to see me. But when a house’s teeth go bad, who else is going to clean out the rot,” states Nick Hazel, one such Preservationist. In 2009, 1 in every 33 homes in Florida is at risk for a visit by Hazel as 3 out of 100 homes are in foreclosure. Nationally, 1 in 84 is at risk.

As I was in court the other day, I couldn’t help but laugh as condo associations are now turning the tables on the banks.  You see the banks are not exactly the best kind of homeowner. They don’t like to clean their pools, maintain their property… or pay their HOA dues.  The judge even commented on the irony and the trend as expressed in a related article in the WSJ last week.

In fact, the Associations have had enough and are now foreclosing out the bank’s interest by suing the banks for back assessments as well as for new assessments that the banks have incurred since the bank became the owner of the property. Interestingly, the banks thought they were so eager to own the property and now have all the “joys” of ownership.

It reminds me of the proverbial proverb to “always watch out for what you wish for.” Here the banks wanted the property… well now they got it.

If you are on the board of a condo or homeowner’s association and would like our firm to evaluate the possibility of suing the real estate owned by the banks (REO) for failure to pay their association obligations please feel free to contact us.