06 LC 36
0235
House
Resolution 1698
By:
Representatives Ashe of the
56th,
Thomas of the
55th,
Jones of the
44th,
Willard of the
49th,
Orrock of the
58th,
and others
A
RESOLUTION
Urging
the Georgia Municipal Association to assess the need for state legislation to
assist municipalities in code enforcement against absentee landowners and
landlords; and for other purposes.
WHEREAS,
citizens in Georgia have voiced concerns about vacant houses in their
neighborhoods and the problems commonly associated with such homes such as drug
and prostitute activities and being used as storehouses for stolen goods and
shelter for the homeless; and
WHEREAS,
in 2003 and 2004, Georgia led the country in mortgage loan fraud with Atlanta
tying with Dallas - Ft. Worth for the dubious honor of the metropolitan mortgage
fraud capital for the country; and
WHEREAS,
in 2004, Fulton County ranked first in the nation in mortgage fraud according to
the Federal National Mortgage Association data, with DeKalb County not far
behind, ranking third nationally, according to the Fannie Mae data for 2002 and
2003; and
WHEREAS,
Fannie Mae has identified that ZIP codes beginning with 303, the majority of
which are in Fulton, have generated more mortgages containing misrepresentations
than any other ZIP code cluster in the nation; and
WHEREAS,
Metro
Atlantás
losses due to mortgage fraud exceed $100 million, and with no slowdown in sight
losses are expected to rise; and
WHEREAS,
empty houses are the most visible sign of mortgage fraud as the people who steal
money from lenders at the closing table never intend to make the mortgage
payments and eventually the lender forecloses, and the scammer, or his or her
unwitting tenants if he or she rents out the property, are forced out leaving
the title records in such a mess that it generally takes months to untangle them
for a legitimate sale with the house standing empty in the meantime;
and
WHEREAS,
abandoned homes breed criminal activity and lead to the deterioration of
neighborhoods; and
WHEREAS,
the Georgia Municipal Association is the only state organization that represents
municipal governments in Georgia with a membership totaling more than 485
municipal governments; and
WHEREAS,
the problems that citizens in neighborhoods, code enforcement officers, and
municipalities are facing in seeking to enforce the codes against absentee
landowners and landowners does not appear to be solvable at the municipal
level.
NOW,
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES that the members of
this body recognize the issues with code enforcement against absentee landowners
and landlords and hereby call upon the Georgia Municipal Association to study
this issue and make recommendations to the Georgia House of Representatives no
later than December 31, 2006, as to what can be done on a state level to address
this growing problem.
BE
IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Clerk of the House of Representatives is authorized
and directed to transmit an appropriate copy of this resolution to the Georgia
Municipal Association.