Florida Keys News
Sunday, September 2, 2012
Bank seeks big break on code fines
BY JOHN DeSANTIS Citizen Staff

A major bank's offer to settle for pennies on the dollar in code enforcement fines on a foreclosed Old Town house has raised the hackles of some island residents, who say Key West should not be subsidizing banks.

But the case is more complex than the question of whether Key West should insist on payment of an amount that is nearly half of its current budget shortfall.

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HOW...did they sell it to somebody?

Submitted on Wed, 09/05/2012 - 6:34am by none
Let me get this straight. Someone....actually SOLD this property....to a new individual......but the bank's clean up crew....."was afraid" of all of the vagrants and drug users who were aggressive toward them".....who are living in this house? See anything wrong with that picture? That...is total BS. And if it were even remotely true......HELLO! Ever hear of.....cops??? Call them.....and flush the place. Pretty simple. Mellon Bank probably didn't think about something like that......right? They think that our Commissioners...are idiots.

Why do the people of KW care if a big bank that scored a

Submitted on Mon, 09/03/2012 - 1:50pm by *.* CLEARLY the original
$3 billion dollar bailout losses a few hundred thousand? It's true. Mellon bank not only ended up with $3 billion bailout, they were then HIRED by the government to oversee other bank bailouts. Don't feel sorry for these crooks. They should be held accountable for their own crooked deals. If the house was given back to them in 2005, why didn't they take responsibility then? Why did they play this game and not put it into their name until 11/2011?

Parking Tickets Too?

Submitted on Mon, 09/03/2012 - 11:14am by BenAnders
Since the city appears to be ready to negotiate accounts receivable, I have a couple parking tickets I would like to discuss. 10 cents on the dollar seems to be the going rate. I can also apply this principle to my future code violations and permit fees as well. Right?

I too have some things I'd like the city to discount, such as my

Submitted on Tue, 09/04/2012 - 1:49pm by Tina
garbage / sewage bill. I'm liking the ten cents on the dollar model myself.

Not all people are created equal

Submitted on Mon, 09/03/2012 - 9:18am by 666
The sale price of a home should incorporate any amounts owed or liens against the property. Just like if the house needs a new roof, you deduct the money it would cost. The bank needs to take whatever the property is worth LESS outstanding bills or issues. Why is it always big banks who get the break? Do you think if this was an individual holding the mortgage they would get the same deal? I know that "corporations are people my friend", but I guess not all people are created equally.

Right

Submitted on Mon, 09/03/2012 - 10:29pm by Conch Harbor
All people are not created equal. Its the way it is, was, and always will be.

Really?

Submitted on Wed, 09/05/2012 - 7:13am by 666
Maybe you should read the Declaration of Independance. You know, that little line about all men being equal under the law. That is what this is about. Treatment under the law.

Really. Really?

Submitted on Thu, 09/06/2012 - 10:20pm by Conch Harbor
If you think all people are equal then you are not being realistic. What a group of men write on a piece of paper does not make all people equal. And everyone is NOT treated equally either. And they NEVER will be treated equally.

Fines are just penalties...

Submitted on Sun, 09/02/2012 - 11:51pm by Rabbi Flanagan
Penalties are nothing more than an incentive to gain compliance. The city doesn't have more than a couple of thousand dollars of costs invested in pursuing this matter. Properties in foreclosure should not be viewed as winning lottery tickets.

Guess what? When an owner is in foreclosure, they don't have the money to make the code corrections. By the time the bank gets ahold of it, the property is worth LESS not more.

Sale Pending

Submitted on Sun, 09/02/2012 - 7:43pm by BenAnders
When I biked by this address today, I noticed a Sale Pending sign on it. Interesting. Which Bubba is trying to save $150k on the purchase price?

Bank Sees Big Break on Code Fines

Submitted on Sun, 09/02/2012 - 1:02pm by tbarken
Settle with the Bank. The City obtains funds, the property gets sold and 923 Eaton is repaired and no long an eye sore in Key West. Tom Barken, Islamorada

Pay in Full

Submitted on Sun, 09/02/2012 - 9:22am
It seems that the bank purchased this property instead of it just being a normal property that they foreclosed on. With that in mind they should have done their due diligence and known what was owed and what repairs were needed to bring the property to code. These fines are the banks responsibility and they should be held accountable for them. The tactic of trying to strong arm the city with the threat of a loss of purchase is just a standard sales technique. If the $300,000 will indeed kill the sale then the bank should take that hit and charge the buyer the 10% they are offering the city in order to make sure the sale goes through.

EXACTLY. The property was TURNED OVER TO THEM in 2005

Submitted on Mon, 09/03/2012 - 1:45pm by *.* CLEARLY the original
and yet they didn't put it in their name until 11/2011? They KNEW EXACTLY what they were doing.

They can afford to take the hit. We cannot.

Really? KW residents are stupid!

Submitted on Sun, 09/02/2012 - 8:04am by jorgee
The city of KW will have to do whatever they have to so the banks get their way! The faster the banks get their way, the faster it will be sold to an investor who is going to rehab it! This is a major problem all over America with foreclosures and city violations on these homes! I moved to Ohio last year and i'm buying homes just like old town homes but for what they are worth in this economy, not (KW Overated prices) and the city of Cleveland wiorks with banks to reduce fines due to that the faster an investor buys it, the faster the house will be up to code and make it look alot better for everyone! So city of KW, get over it, your in an area where real estate isn't worth what they are asking and your worried about code violations? WOW! I never saw such a bunch of B.S. in my life until I dealt with city of KW! Everything is a total nightmare to deal with! It's so nice up north to be able to buy lots of homes, get good returns on renting and not have to deal with all the B.S. in KW!

Flippers: Not Welcome

Submitted on Tue, 09/04/2012 - 12:06pm by dalton2kw
Happy to hear you are flipping/re-habbing elsewhere. Exactly why we have code compliance. Good luck to you. Have a nice winter.

Glad

Submitted on Mon, 09/03/2012 - 8:20pm by Exasperated
Don't rush back to Key West anytime soon. Cleveland is the perfect place for your views.

Congratulations

Submitted on Mon, 09/03/2012 - 2:00pm by BenAnders
You have found a great place to invest your money. I personally like Cleveland: Nice people and the Rock and Roll Museum. Detroit should also be attractive for you as well. Aren't houses there selling for $1?

"Do we say we keep this buyer from closing and buying a house ..

Submitted on Sun, 09/02/2012 - 8:03am by Really!?

So Mr. Yaniz knows the buyer? How else would he know the property will be kept in good shape?
Why are the citizens expected to take the loss? Take control and let the city the sell it for the taxes. Mellon made a bad loan and now they want to give Mr. Yaniz's friend a deal on our dime.

Take this to the end and protect our revenue. Do not set a precedence for giving away our revenue.

How is it OUR revenue?

Submitted on Mon, 09/03/2012 - 8:13am by Rabbi Flanagan
Code enforcement penalties are a stick to bring a property into compliance. How can anyone honestly claim that the city is taking a loss? There is no way that the city can claim that they have $180,000 invested in that property. "They didn't build that!"

the bank didn't build it

Submitted on Tue, 09/04/2012 - 7:58am by ezinthekeys
the bank didn't build it either. no matter how you try to spin it this was a bad investment on the banks part when they bought it in 2005. why is it people like you want to socialize the banks losses and privatize their gains? makes no sense and sure as hell isn't capitalism.
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