When Hoarders Abandon

Sometimes foreclosures come with bonus super surprise gifts – like years of accumulated trash. When hoarders abandon a unit (hey, they suffer financial hardship as well) to a foreclosure, by the condominium corporation or the bank, the nearby residents often get the bonus of smell and vermin as parting last words.

At some point the condominium will use by-laws (almost every condominium has these) regarding smells, health, and safety to enter the unit and have all the trash removed. If the property has a mortgage, or the bank has possession, in most cases the costs of cleanup will be paid by the bank. Because outstanding fees imposed by the condominium on the unit need to be paid before sale, there is a pocket to pull the cash from.

In the case of a foreclosure by the condominium on a mortgage less unit, the banks will usually award costs and allow the condominium to collect out of the proceeds of sale.

Condo Owners Often Pay Twice For Trash

It’s nice to see a proactive city council – East Greenwich, Rhode Island – looking at city pick-up of condominium trash.

Cities extensively benefit from condominiums – each condominium unit pays property tax, but the corporation (especially in townhouse and high-rise) usually have to pay for third party services often offered to single detached housing.

This is often true with trash pick-up. Condominium owners pay municipal tax and then have to pay part of their condo fees for non-municipal trash services.

So it is always nice to see a city council look at delivering fair services to all their properties, instead of taking the property tax and “running.”