City workers in Holland Michigan have gone in to the property preservation business…. in a way.  The workers mowed the lawns of 19 homes after the properties received violations for grass and weeds.

The city of Holland Michigan gives homeowners 48 hours to cut their lawns if the vegetation exceeds 8 inches and the workers drive through neighborhoods looking for lawns needing citations.  So far 126 houses have received property preservation style services from the city.

After the 48-hour deadline has passed, the properties are checked again for non-compliance.  The addresses of properties still in need of grass cuts are sent to a  contractor which will mow the lawns within a couple of days. The city will then bill the homeowners the cost of the lawn service plus a $75 fee. If the bill remains unpaid, it will be added to the offending homeowners’ property taxes.

In an article by The Wall Street Journal, the city of Boston is hiring local property managers to inspect and maintain vacant properties:

The idea is to get some responsibility so these buildings don’t sit there and have a negative impact on the community while people argue about who is responsible,” said William Good, commissioner of inspectional services for Boston, which recently began requiring that properties be registered with the city as soon as a foreclosure notice is issued. To increase accountability, Boston is requiring that owners of vacant properties hire a local property manager to be responsible for inspecting the property monthly and maintaining it.

There are articles every day describing new ordinances cities around the country are establishing in order to deal with foreclosed properties. Check with the cities in your coverage area to see if you might be able to get on a bid list or obtain contractor status.