Thousands of vacant homes in Miami-Dade and Broward Counties Florida could pose a danger if a major storm hits. Broward Emergency Management Director Chuck Lanza is concerned about unsecured debris from foreclosed homes damaging other's people's property. He's also worried about the damage to a community if a foreclosed home is destroyed and left in a pile of rubble further weakening property values.
"There's nobody there to protect a home, putting up shutters, taking care of them," Lanza told CBS4 News. "Those could be become really damaged, become projectiles, become difficult for the community and become hard to recover."
Lanza hopes property managers or banks step in to secure a property.
Tom Thompson is a realtor for Derolf GMAC Real Estate. Thompson has experience securing and selling foreclosed homes throughout South Florida. In most cases, he said, the real estate agent is responsible for caring for the property.
"There are property management companies that are assigned to many homes that would be responsible for taking care of them," Thompson said.
In the event of a hurricane, Thompson said Derolf GMAC instructs realtors to clean up debris around a foreclosed home and secure the property as best as possible. For instance, putting up hurricane shutters if the home has them installed.
If a storm approached South Florida, Emergency Management Director Chuck Lanza said it might be up to neighbors living near a foreclosed property to step in and secure it.
