Run Down Reverse Mortgage Houses
 

We live in Silver Lake, which I consider to be the Reverse Mortgage/Abandonment Capital of TV. On our street alone, there are 3 house that have gone in reverse mortgage/abandonment after the owner's have died and there are at least 2 more that will be in reverse mortgage soon. These houses are SO run down and neglected, there are actual trees growing out of the gutters. They are covered in mold and have weeds taller than the front doors! (one of them doesn't even have a front door...it's leaning up against the house under the carport!). Old, moldy filthy furniture piled under carports and Hearing Notices or Abandoned Property notices on the windows. Calls to the banks and Deed Compliance are a waste of time. No one cares. In fact, Silver Lake has gotten so bad, we have decided to move and get out of here. It's embarrassing to invite people over and have them drive past these houses.

Why do the banks allow these houses to sit like this? One on my street has been like this for 4 years now.

We have the same problem on our street. The only thing I can say that if these houses were in LSL they would find a way to take care of them. There are plenty of people that take pride in their houses and it is just not right. Our neighbors have even paid someone to cut the grass. We now have two empty houses on our street...

Just to clarify..are you sure you are using the term "reverse mortgage" correctly? Or do you mean foreclosure? Or just abandoned? I'm not doubting that there are properties in disrepair, and that is a huge issue.

I agree.

Folks start out here using the term "they" without ascertaining WHO is ultimately responsible. If a home is in foreclosure than it is in limbo. There are some responsible people who are buying homes that are foreclosed in the old section and spiffing them up and reselling them, but "they" do it one at a time.

Who owns these buildings? What can THEY do? In our last neighborhood in Cincinnati a couple of homes were foreclosed on due to the terrible downturn in the economy and probably due to loans being extended to people unable to handle them, and they too sat weedy and derelict.

Who is to be blamed here?

We called the bank and gave them addresses on the worst ones and they are in reverse mortgage. There are a couple that are abandoned but not many. I just don't understand why they are allowed to stand is disrepair like this! There is one on a corner lot that is SO bad, it had a tree growing through the floor in the 2nd bedroom and out the hole in the roof.

Reverse mortgage or abandoned, TV should not allow this.

For homes that have a reverse mortgage, when the owner dies the property reverts to the bank that extended the reverse mortgage. If that is really the case, I wonder if the banks don't have more than they can handle. Whomever is responsible, it is bad advertising for TV to have this situation. Makes you wonder what areas are next.

The bank does own the property if it is a reverse mortgage or a foreclosure. It is too bad that they are not held responsible for making sure these properties do not become rundown, in fact it would be in their best interest to get these properties sold again. I purchased a foreclosure in one of the Detroit suburbs and while the house was empty, the city took care of mowing the yard and the bank had to pay for the services when we closed on the property, it was about $850. I also had a friend in MN whose husband took out a reverse mortgage on their place, he was over 65 and she wasn't. When he died, she had to move because the bank became the owners of the property

That can't be good for resale values of any houses in the neighborhood. Where are the "Flippers" when you need them?

Where is compliance when you need them???

What is compliance Gomoho? I don't know much about real estate law. Who is responsible? Is it The Villages? Hasn't that sections' governance been now turned over to the homeowners?

I know what compliance means as a general word but I don't know what it means in this issue, and Gomoho, I am not challenging you, I am just asking and know I will get the usual helpful explanation. You always have so much to add to this forum.

i wonder why they are not just demo and sell the property

Gracie - I was working with the understanding the historic section is still governed by someone associated with The Villages and those are the powers that be I am referring to. If it has in fact been turned over to the homeowners for self-governing then they have only themselves to blame. Can anyone shed some light on this issue? Who is responsible to assure covenants and restrictions are being upheld in the historic section?

i'd love to know what bank owns these properties? could it be citizen's first?

I don't know how to find out, do you, Maria? I wonder if BK knows how.

In Cincinnati, we could do absolutely nothing to get these foreclosed homes maintained in our neighborhood, not the HOA, not anything, and every once in awhile some one would mow a yard. So I went over and mowed the lawn and trimmed the bushes on the one closest to us. It is the Martha Stewart gene and I am frankly kind of ashamed of it. It goes with my German heritage I think...

Wait. Is Martha Stewart German?

The foreclosure thing happens in all neighborhoods in all areas of this country and it is sad indeed.

Good for you Gracie!

Martha Stewart was born Martha Helen Kostyra which I believe is a Polish name.

HOA's would have to increase their fees by a HUGE amount in order to pay all the legal fees involved in finding and suing the banks and/or shell corporations holding the mortgages. Be careful what you wish for.

Don't feel as though repos/foreclosures are exclusive to particular areas of TV. There was a house across the street from ours in Duval that went into foreclosure and became a bank owned property. The entire process seems to take quite a while for it to conclude and for a bank to put the house on the market. This particular property sat unattended for several years......and all of the utilities were turned off during that time! Electric, water (potable and irrigation), gas, etc. Some of the neighbors pitched in to help keep what was left of the grass mowed in an effort to help keep the place fairly presentable from the outside. But one neighbor told me he'd seen inside the place and it was going to need some work, particularly to address mold issues.

Long story short, a couple bought the home for a very good price then put a BUNCH of money into it to make it right - cut the drywall up about 3', brought in the mold mitigation team, sprayed what was needed, replaced the drywall, all new flooring, mostly new landscaping, and got back on making the lawn look nice. And as a result they have a very nice house and are great neighbors!

Bill :)

and she grew up in nutley, nj!

I admit that I know nothing about the Historical side of TV. I would bet someone on TOTV does. If I lived there, I would start by researching everything I could find on my Convenants, deed restrictions and whatever CDD I was in. The POA or VHA could be of help. I would enlist my neighbors who should be interested in their home values. I see a lot of nice property in the Historical District when I've been there to play golf and I would think there would be a lot of interest in the issue you have presented OP.

That's the kind of home I'll be looking for......a fixer upper and something I can live in at a good price. I've done a lot of renovations and enjoy that kind of work as I can put my personal touches on them to have them customized. Send me the addresses of those run down/foreclosed/reversed properties and I'll look into that. I didn't realize there were any in TV. I thought everything was perfect there! I promise that I'll be a better neighbor than those empty, run down properties! :laugh:

They should be found in the deed records in probate court for the particular county. Most are online these days.

There are several people in TV who renovation is their thing and some of the manufacture homes I am sure can be renovated. From what OP said about others, it sounds like all you got is an empty lot after the "mess" is hauled away. Of course, you could get another manufacture home for the lot or build a frame or block home from scratch. If I was 20 years younger, I would jump at these opportunities! Been there---done that!

gomoho...Property ownership is public info. What are the addresses you are referring to ?
Here's a link to the Lake County Property Appraiser. Just type in the address and you can see who owns it. Please let us know what you find out.

Records Search Terms of Use : Lake County Property Appraiser

Thank you, but I wasn't the one questioning the property ownership. My question is who is responsible to enforce covenants and restrictions in the historic section - still TV or has it been transferred to home owners.

A home obtained by a company through the reverse mortgage process is entirely different than a foreclosed property. I believe the OP specifically said these are reverse mortgage properties not foreclosures.

The VCDD for the historic section is the Village Center.

Village Community Development Districts

I called Citizen's and they said most of these properties are sitting because the bank can't keep up with the number they have or the owner passes away,left nothing in the will as to what he wants done with the house, the kids don't want it so they let it sit. I would rather see it sold to someone who will care instead of it sitting with trees growing out the roof!

There is one down the street that is reverse mortgage. I was told it can be purchased rather cheap, however the back taxes have accumulated to the tune of $9700. So, add that to the price of the house plus all the renovations because it has fallen into such shambles and now your talking a run down house for over $100,000!

Thumbs up to Wells Fargo!
 

We have an empty foreclosure next door that has been in that process for a least two years now. It was overgrown, mildewed, unkempt, shabby. Everytime someone showed up to appraise it, or to mow the lawn, or whatever, neighbors would rush over to complain of the condition and lack of maintenance. The response was always "We don't know anything and we aren't responsible". I personally went to Community Compliance three times and called them weekly, politely, with their only response being they'd check it out. Nothing at all ever done.

Finally a lawnmower showed up and said that if neighbors called Wells Fargo Bank and complained to them personally, it would get done. Voila! It worked. We called and they sent over a guy who trimmed trees and bushes way back, just sorta spiffed it up. They didn't clean up the mildewed fence and house, but it was a big improvement. So Wells Fargo responded in a very timely manner, which is apparently more than some banks do according to what I see posted here.

What does The Villages say?

The usual.."We are aware of the situation and we are looking into it" That was 3 years ago on some of these!

I have tried to buy a couple of these properties. And for some unknown reason it is almost impossible to work with the bank that owns them. I do want to restore and sell them, so they would be done up right. But either the price is so high or the red tape so onerous that it seems they will just sit there and go downhill. Makes no business sense what so ever. Bank stock holders beware.

So if you see one of these that you know can be bought (all issues with ownership resolved), please let me know. I will help your neighborhood improve.

Hi everyone - I used to be a land title abstractor in Gainesville. Now, I live in NC and am thinking about moving to TV. From what I've read a home with a reverse mortgage is owned by the deceased persons estate. It should be sold by them - the family member(s) who inherited the home. It is typically sold to satisfy the reverse mortgage obligation. Then the family (estate) gets the remainder. And if the banks don't get their money within a year they get it from the agency that insured the reverse mortgage in the first place. The problem may be that no one knows who now owns the property. And who wants to spend their money to satisfy the legal issues ? The best thing would be to either find the owners (likely out of state) and work with them, or
buy the property at tax sales if no one is paying the property taxes. I, for one, would like to have a lot for cheap to put a new mobile home on.

There are a million of these stories all over the great state of Florida, just pick up any local newspaper from any corner of the state. The cities and towns say it's not their job to clean up these properties or they don't have the money in their budgets. The banks can't keep up with all the properties, and they just sit there rotting away.

So my husband and I took a ride this afternoon to see for ourselves just what is going on in Silver Lake. I am pleased to report the historic section is alive and well and Harold Schwartz would be proud EXCEPT for a few bad eggs like any other neighborhood.

In the OP's defense if these homes "with the white signs in the window" were in my neighborhood I would be beside myself as well. I was absolutely shocked that this has been allowed to go on in The Villages.

I have a feeling they are foreclosures though and not reverse mortgage situations because I believe when you contract a reverse mortgage you actually sell the property to the company providing such so there would be no question of ownership or how it can be disposed of. They in turn would want to sell asap to limit their exposure on the property and the carrying costs involved.

If you use the real estate website Trulia and go home hunting in TV (32162)without turning on the "foreclosure" filter it is amazing just how many homes in TV are either in short-sale, full or pre-foreclosure status. It's rather eye opening.

As far as compliance goes, the community standards board, lawn gestapo or whatever else you want to call them can levy fines, but there's not much that they can really do, and in almost every case, those homes that are in violation are owned by people in some stage of bankruptcy which means that most of those fines cannot legally be collected. The fines only work if the homeowner is solvent, and if the bank has taken possession of the home, it's pretty hard to make them pay up. The best you can hope for is that a new buyer comes along and fixes things up.

You guys needed to drive down Schwartz Blvd and see how many are down there as well. Also, drive up around Orange Blossom in Silver Lake. It's a mess. There is actually a house on my street that hasn't been lived in for 3 years. The inside is so full of mold and old dog urine, in order to enter, you have to wear a mask. The odor is noticeable from the front of the house. Health Dept has been called, Deed Compliance and even the Lady lake Police. Nothing has been done...and probably won't be. In the meantime, how easy will it be to sell my well maintained house when 8 doors down is this house?
( Were you guys in a yellow convertible? If you were, I saw you!:wave:)

Which is why I questioned the OP early in the thread regarding the difference between reverse mortgage and foreclosures. I suspect many don't know the difference.

In a reverse mortgage the bank fully requires you to keep up the condition of the property and abide with all of the various deed restrictions or you can actually lose that mortgage.

In a standard mortgage situation the last thing that the bank wants is to wind up owning the house. With a reverse mortgage it's just the opposite. That's their payback asset. When they finally take title to the home, you can bet that they will have it in tip-top shape and expect to sell it for a profit ASAP. So I doubt the "broken window" houses are from reverse mortgage contracts.

If the bank owns them, why do they not take these homes out of the park.. Contract a real estate company, put in a new home and sell it? I noticed over in Orange Blossom they have taken out a lot of older homes and new homes are going in.....

I think that since these are manufactured homes, many have no value other then the land. The bank probably has no interest in maintaining them as all they will be selling is the land. I don't know that much about reverse mortgages, but I would guess that the bank doesn't give full value of the home when these deals are made. Most of these lots are worth about $40,000. If the bank gave $35K-$40k in a reverse mortgage they are not interested in putting a lot of money into a house which they feel will probably be torn down and replaced.