"The issue of foreclosed homes was not discussed again at further city council meetings. Instead, the council decided that these homes will be decided upon on a case-by-case basis. Unless a particular house causes imminent danger or health issues to nearby residents, the council will not step in."
"The particular house on The Oaks Circle has since been maintained."
- Sandra Modigh,
City Clerk of the City of Edgewood
Nov. 31
City to take over foreclosed home maintenance costs
EDGEWOOD – Roxanna Sigler has happily lived in her home in the 5000 block of The Oaks Circle in
But for the last eight months, every time she opens a window or walks outside into her front lawn, she can’t help but cringe at the eyesore of a home right next to her own.
The house next door is currently plagued with an overgrown lawn and shrubbery, broken windows and a mosquito-infested pool.
“It just looks awful,” Sigler said. “We just remodeled our own home this year, and now we have to look at that next door everyday.”
The house, located at 5012 The Oaks Circle in
The condition of the abandoned ranch-style house was brought to the attention of the Edgewood City Council on Tuesday, Sept. 15, where the council began discussing the city’s role in upkeep on homes abandoned due to foreclosure within the city limits.
“There’s no good solution in this sort of case,” said Mayor Michael Teague. “The unfortunate part for us is that we get stuck with it.”
Although the house on The Oaks Circle is among the first of its kind within the city of
“If the resident can’t pay for it or has since moved out, all that’s left is the city to try to maintain it,” said Laurie Botts, the real estate division manager for the city of
According to Botts, the most likely case is for the city’s code enforcement division to take over maintaining the home until the bank is able to sell the property.
But this can be a long and tedious process, she said.
“City government can end up mowing the yard of a home for months and months while it’s still in the foreclosure process,” Botts said.
Botts said she’s seen many cases like the one in Edgewood recently throughout
According to Teague,
Although
“We’re hoping that this is an isolated case, but obviously something we should prepare for,” Teague said.
This is the first year that the City of
“Most cases are resolved immediately when they receive a notice,” he said.
Sigler thinks otherwise.
“I’ve contacted code enforcement many times about the house. You can see the notices posted to their door, but still nothing’s been done about it for months,” she said.
Sigler said that another neighbor has mowed the abandoned home’s lawn multiple times once the lawn and plants had grown into his own yard.
Members of the council discussed their plan of action of how they wish to proceed with the house on The Oaks Circle.
Council member Neil Powers said that city will deal with these houses on a case-by-case basis.
“If a house has become a health or public safety threat, then yes, we will most definitely come in and clean it up,” Powers said.
According to Powers, the city will outsource to private, bonded contractors for maintenance of these homes.
Teague said that the city will pay for the maintenance through funds in their undesignated reserve account and not from the code enforcement budget.
“We’re basically just loosing money in these instances since we know the banks won’t pay us back and usually the residents are gone or can’t afford the services themselves,” Teague said.
But the outward appearance of these foreclosed houses isn’t just affecting the aesthetics of city, but those who live nearby as well.
“These abandoned houses with broken windows and four-inch high lawns are bringing down the property value of the houses around them, and even the neighborhood it’s in,” Botts said. “The people living around these houses are the ones who are hurting the most.”
Teague said that the main reason the city government is eating up these costs is because of these nearby residents.
“It’s not fair to those who live around these houses to have to see that and face the consequences each day,” Teague said.
Sigler just hopes someone will do something about it soon.
“It’s good to know that they’re at least starting to talk about it,” she said.
The council did not come to a decision at the meeting on Tuesday. The house on The Oaks Circle will remain without lawn maintenance until further notice.
The Edgewood City Council will discuss these plans further at the next scheduled meeting on Oct. 20 at 6:30 p.m. at the
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| Males: 1,023 |  (49.2%) |
| Females: 1,057 |  (50.8%) |
| Median resident age: |  42.4 years |
| Florida median age: |  38.7 years |
Zip codes: 32809.
| Edgewood: | $69,924 |
| Florida: | $47,804 |
| Edgewood: | $42,845 |
| Florida: | $26,696 |
| Edgewood: | $384,405 |
| Florida: | $230,400 |
Races in Edgewood:
For population 15 years and over in Edgewood city
133 residents are foreign born (5.0% Latin America, 1.2% Europe, 0.8% Asia).
| This city: | 7.0% |
| Florida: | 16.7% |
According to our research there were no registered sex offenders living in this city in early 2007.
Median real estate property taxes paid for housing units in 2000:
| Edgewood: | 1.3% ($1,896) |
| Florida: | 1.4% ($1,262) |
Nearest city with pop. 50,000+: Orlando, FL 
(3.2 miles 
, pop. 185,951).
