Some Chandler neighborhoods are finding that taking a positive approach is the best way to deal with the problem of empty, neglected homes.
At a recent round table discussion hosted by Chandler's Neighborhood Resources Division to address the problem, participants talked about solutions ranging from neighbors pulling weeds to charging a fee to banks to defray maintenance costs.
The discussion included community association board members, homeowners, city staff and real estate professionals. Most agreed that in many cases, the best way to address the problem was for neighbors to take action rather than trying to pursue time-consuming and expensive legal remedies.
"As an elected representative of the association, you have to listen to what the lawyers are telling you," said Mike Gammons, a Chandler resident and former member of his homeowners association board. "But as a neighbor, sometimes it comes down to, is it legal, or is it the neighborly thing to do?"
Residents shared success stories of things that worked for their neighborhoods.
At Ray Manor, a community of 180 homes near Ray and McQueen Roads, the association's board has found that building community spirit and giving negligent property owners a positive nudge has worked better than trying to impose discipline through nasty letters and fines.
That approach could be the best solution in neighborhoods not governed by homeowners associations as well. Having neighbors volunteer to help each other maintain property - or at least encourage able bodied residents to do so themselves - can be more efficient than relying on city code enforcement efforts to wind through that process.
In communities where the problem is a large number of empty homes, it's imperative that creative solutions be found.
Debra Campbell is community manager for Johnson Ranch, a 6,000 home development near Queen Creek.
Campbell said that as many as 25 percent of the homes in that community change hands each year. Each transaction, whether the home is sold or repossessed by a bank, is assessed a $174 working capital fee. That money is used to pay for the upkeep of empty, neglected properties when the responsible parties don't do that job.
