What's That Definiton of Insanity Again?

The following began as a comment to the latest post on "The Voice of The People" blogsite. By the time I completed it I was so worked up that I elected to bore our NAC readers with this content once again.

Every time I grow weak and stoop to attempt at responding to "Anonymous" I get frustrated, but then I remind myself that maybe, just maybe someone of like mind may by happenstance read it and catch on.

And so it goes!

I don't know where the idea came from that anyone is advocating homeowners get a free pass while rental owners get hung by their thumbs on the courthouse lawn.

That is not the case. This has all been said before in various public meetings, forums, blogs and newspaper articles, but apparently some still don't understand.

Therefore I'm gonna take yet another stab at it.

First of all to the ownership question.

There are a variety of programs available for indigent homeowners to get help with repairs involving health and safety issues. Yet it befuddles me how few take advantage of them. Perhaps we as neighbors need to offer them our help in this area.

As far as identifying ownership of these properties, CM Steve Price is right. Most of the time, but not always, one can indeed ascertain the current owner of an owner-occupied home by simply going to the tax assessor’s office and entering the address into the public access computer.

Remember, I said most of the time.

On occasion, if the home has been sold recently (and recently can be as much as 18 months), the new information may not yet be in that database.

In those instances one must start tracking at the recorders office. Even then it won't show up if for some reason the property transfer has not been recorded. So then it's off to the races.

With respect to rental property Mr. Price is in error. The chain of ownership transfers can stretch across family, state lines and international borders, ad infinitum. What is on the local records may be, and often is, out of date information.

Although they are few in number, the most egregious offenders control the majority of the worst properties.

They have made an art form out of transferring (on paper) ownership to a cousin, ex-wife, future brother in-law, etc. for the sole purpose of creating an untraceable paper trail to confuse and frustrate.

The purpose of rental registration is to enable the enforcing entity to go directly to a locally available responsible party to alleviate the issue at hand, be they code enforcement officers, building commissioner, city attorney, or tax collector.

Everyone assumes that just because a tax bill gets sent to a post office box on Cancun, the responsible party will pick it up and overnight a check. That would be an erroneous assumption!

Yes, liens can be placed on the tax bill and property seized, but neither is happening. At least not where we can see it.

Just like Pam Badger can cite repeat offenders, the city attorney can prosecute them, or the building inspector can enter any home, owned or rented if he has probable cause ... but that isn't happening, either.

So please quit buying the crap that the professional slumlords and their anonymous cowardly supporters are feeding you because I know you are smarter than that! Besides, it doesn't become you.

Instead, get out your digital cameras, take pictures of the offending property, hand it in person to the building commissioner and if nothing happens, do it again, and again.

Then if nothing happens, send them to the Tribune or this blog!

By now it should be obvious to all that promises are just words, and words more often than not fall on deaf ears.

So it is up to us to keep the pressure on and the issues in front of their faces.

If we can't or won't stand up, get involved, attend public meetings and quit hiding behind “anonymous” then we need to just shut the hell up!

Damn!

I feel better now!