Not providing the minimum home upkeep required by the city can costs homeowners thousands of dollars and even their home.
A few properties were forced to foreclose after accruing hundreds of thousands of dollars for code compliance violations through the city of Boynton Beach.
The City Attorney’s Office was authorized last week at a City Commission meeting to file a lawsuit to foreclose on code enforcement liens totaling $508,336.48 as of June 15 held by the city on property owned by Gail and Andrew Luchey at 124 NW 10th Ave. and 118 NW 10th Ave.
Scott Blasie, Boynton’s code compliance administrator, said the next step of foreclosure is litigation by the city against the owners.
“They will get a chance to defend themselves in court and the city will have to decide whether it wants to take over the property,” Blasie said.
He also said the area of which the homes are located is the Heart of Boynton, where drug activity and crime is high.
“The City Commission approved 5-0 for the legal department to move forward with the foreclosure,” Blasie said. “It is in the heart of our redevelopment area, so it is for the public good to do this.”
For past two years, the violations have accrued on the two properties under the Florida Building Code of $200 and $500 per day for general condition of property.
Read more about this story in the July 15 issue of the Boynton Forum.
Mike Rothman can be reached at mkrothman@tribune.com.