Foreclosure Maintenance, a Growing Construction Niche With the numbers of foreclosed and abandoned homes rising, the industry niche of “Foreclosure Property Maintenance” is attracting many contractors. Cities tired of the eyesores are cracking down on banks, passing legislation to force them to keep the properties cleaned up. Just today, the city of Escondido, CA tightened up maintenance rules on foreclosures pretty hard, closing loopholes that were letting some folks wiggle out from under their responsibilities: “One key change approved by the council Wednesday was to expand the definition of who can be held responsible for property maintenance to include mortgage holders, banks and those who directly manage a property.” Many cities will be following suit, redifining direct responsibility and assessing damages. Thanks to foreclosure tracking sites like RealtyTrac, crafty contractors are now going directly to homeowners, property managers, and banks and offering their property maintenance services. The construction industry operates in cycles, and we are once again in the midst of change. Can your firm change with the times?
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