Oversight Sought On Lenders
Bill Would Help County Monitor Properties

By Chris L. Jenkins
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, December 4, 2008

In the upcoming legislative session of the General Assembly, Fairfax County officials will seek the power to require lenders to notify the county if default residential property has been vacant for more than three months.

County officials said the move would help them monitor foreclosed properties that fall into disrepair. The legislation would also require lenders and mortgage companies to designate a point of contact for a property's upkeep.

Virginia law requires localities to get permission from the legislature for such authority.

"The county should have a way of keeping companies accountable," said Supervisor Jeff C. McKay (D-Lee), who pushed for the county's General Assembly delegation to submit the bill next month and whose district has had some of the most foreclosures this year. He said that the move to force lenders to communicate with the county "is another tool we'll have" to manage the crisis.

McKay said the ability to keep tabs on foreclosed properties will allow officials in the county, which reported 2,244 properties in foreclosure as of Oct. 31, and residents to register complaints about the maintenance of properties. He said it would also help police keep tabs on vacant properties that might attract squatting and other illegal activity.

The effort is one of several the county has undertaken since June to manage the foreclosure crisis.

Last month, supervisors approved a plan to expand the county's foreclosure assistance program using new aid from the federal government. In part, that plan will disperse $1.5 million for first-time homeownership. It will also dole out $1 million to nonprofit groups to buy foreclosed properties that could be used as low-income rental housing.

Besides single-family homes and townhouses, nonprofit groups will be allowed to buy foreclosed condominiums priced up to $180,000. The money will be offered to groups through an application process on a first-come, first-served basis.

The county also expects to receive $2.8 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development through its Neighborhood Stabilization Program.