Problem properties increase with foreclosures — do what you can
By: Robert Johnson 04/01/2008
With 503 boarded-up homes on the Northside, Minneapolis Police Officer Rich Jackson has his hands full. Jackson is the 4th Precinct’s Problem Properties Officer. The problem properties unit is a collaborative network including the city’s inspections department, city attorney’s office, and additional units within the police department.
And with 824 foreclosed Northside homes on the books as of February, it sounds like he will be even busier. Experts are warning we will see many more foreclosures this year, with declines not expected until mid 2009.
What is a problem property? Officially it’s a house which is a “chronic problem;” meaning three or more “contacts” in a short period of time (three or more within three months), no resolutions by normal police or city inspection efforts, a negative to the community, or a threat to public safety.
Foreclosed and abandoned homes are obvious targets for crime. The big orange stickers on front doors become invitations for future troubles. Most prevalent and devastating are theft of copper and aluminum and other household fixtures. Other problems on the rise this spring are squatters, and these homes becoming party houses.
“Once a house is raided for copper it has to be boarded and condemned,” says Jackson, “These are considered unlivable conditions, lacking the services required for habitation.” Once the boards go on, many houses sit boarded-up for years until the city either tears the property down or sells them to someone willing to bring them up to code. In late March a foreclosed home on the 3700 block of Emerson was raided for copper in the middle of the night. Neighbors were alarmed when the smell of gas awoke them to the problem.
Weeks ago the Minneapolis City Council approved a board-up fee increase from the current $2000 to an assessed fee of $6000. This fee will be assessed to the property — a price tag closer reflecting the actual fee of boarding up foreclosed and abandon homes. The assessment will be settled when the home is sold, to either the seller or buyer.
Jackson, who spoke to homeowners at the March 10 Northside Homeowners’ Association meeting, would like to see more criminal consequences instead of civil action for owners of problem properties. “A slap on the hand is not enough.” Many of these properties are rental units and revisions of city rental codes and policies would go a long way to addressing problem properties with tougher penalties on their owners.
Criminal statutes for property crime — a ‘three-strike your out’ policy for landlords in evicting tenants— as well as stricter accountability standards, mandatory code of conduct added to leases, and a landlord registry were suggestions brought forward by Jackson and the community to curb problem properties. At present the City of Minneapolis does not even require landlords to have a lease with a tenant.
Change in the community. “The biggest thing to change North Minneapolis is you,” said Jackson. To be the eyes and ears of your community and call 311 or 911 if you see something suspicious on your block is the standard. A simple action, which it seems, we may not be doing enough of. As a burglar told Jackson upon arrest, the criminals think they have a better chance of being caught in Northeast because people will call from there. So they come to the Northside because people don’t call. There may be a grain of truth to our complacency; for too long the community has not been vocal and thus has been underserved.
When asked about the most recent crime declines and the notion that perhaps there would be a reduction in crime because there are less people, “It’s not that crime isn’t happening…people aren’t reporting it,” said Jackson.
What can we do? Call 911 or 311 if you see people in an abandoned home or other suspicious activity on your block. The City of Minneapolis recently sent out a plea for the community to “adopt a house,” asking citizens to watch over boarded-up, abandoned, foreclosed homes found on almost every block throughout North Minneapolis. It is an unfortunate and unrealistic expectation that the “owner” — the mortgage company left with a foreclosed property — would be required or even willing to maintain their property.
It is in all our best interests to watch over these abandon properties. Two separate research studies estimate for each abandoned home on a block the surrounding homes should expect a 1% to 3% decrease in property values. If the financial loss is not incentive, perhaps curb appeal of the community and public safety are better considerations.
If we want to have a more stable Northside, we as the “community left behind” have to become recruits in the fight to save it — by letting potential criminals know we watch and we call 911 if trouble occurs. We also need to keep streets and the area around boarded-up homes and our blocks clean. Let’s become advocates and recruiters for responsible homeowners and new members to our community.
Note: For info go to the next Northside Homeowners Association meeting on April 14, 6:30 p.m. at Folwell Park.
