A health and safety receivership is an effective remedy to restore abandoned properties. There are many explanations as to why residential and commercial sites become abandoned, leaving behind half-built or vacant structures with no clearly defined purpose. Whether it’s an investor/developer relationship gone bad or simply the owner unable to finance the project, the property becomes abandoned leaving quite the eyesore for the surrounding community.
Abandoned properties generate a host of interrelated dangers ranging from unsafe structures so seriously deteriorated making it unfit for human habitation to higher crime rates directly related to the vacant building. When a property is abandoned, it is often subject to trash dumping, graffiti and overgrown weeds/vegetation in some cases leading to a significant fire hazard. Abandoned properties make neighborhoods unsafe, bring down property values for the other businesses and houses in the neighborhood, and discourage future investments in the neighborhood.
A court-appointed Health & Safety Receiver can provide the remedy for these problematic properties. Receivership is a legal remedy to combat blight and transform properties back into safe and habitable structures. A Receiver is granted full control over the property by the court. A Receiver will first inspect the property and prepare a rehabilitation plan, and then will secure, stabilize or repair the property to prevent further deterioration. Rehabilitation may include environmental testing to ensure the area is cleared of hazardous waste or contaminants. The structure may need substantial construction before it can be ready to serve a new purpose. A Receiver has the ability to borrow funds for rehabilitation, obtain construction permits, rehabilitate, demolish, or sell the property in receivership.
A Health & Safety Receiver can provide solutions to the problems stemming from abandoned properties. Richardson “Red” Griswold is appointed by California courts to act as a Health & Safety Receiver for abandoned properties. For more information, please contact Griswold Law Receiverships.
