Bad loans can make bad lawns

Columbia Falls currently has about 14 homes either in or near foreclosure, and the wet spring is making them stand out in their neighborhoods, as their uncut lawns grow higher and higher.

City officials notify owners of record to cut lawns, but that usually takes time, city manager Susan Nicosia explained.

In the case of a foreclosed home, a property management company, a Realtor, a bank or a government-lending institution is responsible for the property's upkeep. If they don't comply, the city will cut the lawn and add the cost to the property's tax bill, Nicosia said.

Some properties are dilapidated, but others were once coveted homes in Columbia Falls. The former home of Dorothy Brading, one of the city's pioneers, for example, is apparently abandoned, with food, soda cans and cigarette packages laying on the floors. Outside, dandelions and grass have grown to knee-height.

Nicosia said not all foreclosed homes are left unattended. It largely depends on who holds the loan and which Realtor is trying to sell the property. She also noted that foreclosures take time - as long as 18 months, plenty of time for tall grass to grow.

Realtor Gordon Zuehlsdorff said upkeep of foreclosed properties largely depends on who holds the note. In the case of federal agencies, Fannie Mae reimburses Realtors trying to sell its properties for cutting lawns, but HUD and Freddie Mac won't reimburse for lawn maintenance, he said.

In some cases, Zuehlsdorff said, a Realtor will make sure a lawn is cut so a house looks good for a prospective buyer or just to keep the neighbors from complaining.

Cutting lawns at foreclosed homes in the valley has become a brisk business. Zuehlsdorff said he knew of one lawn maintenance company that was assigned 84 lawns in one day in the Flathead Valley.