Can an Iowa city take title to an abandoned house?
Yes. A city, or a county outside city limits, can ask a court to award it title to a building that has been abandoned for at least six months in a row. If the court agrees, the title comes free of the claims and liens of the people named in the case.
In Iowa law, a building is abandoned when it is vacant, or has only trespassers in it, and breaks the local housing or building code.
The owner, mortgage holders, lienholders and anyone else known to hold an interest must be named in the case. The city or county can ask for a hearing no sooner than sixty days after filing.
Among the things the court weighs: unpaid taxes, whether utilities are on, whether the owner or a tenant lives there, whether the building is open to the weather and whether it is boarded up. The court also looks at vermin, piled-up debris and uncut weeds, and whether the people with an interest made a good-faith effort to put the property back to use before the case was filed.
Who can go to court over an abandoned house in Iowa, and can a receiver fix it?
Where the city or county has adopted Iowa's abandoned-building procedures, the city, the county, a neighboring landowner or a housing nonprofit can petition to have the building fixed, and the court can put a receiver in charge.
Once a property has been vacant at least one hundred thirty-five days, a private person can ask the local building official to inspect it and certify that it is abandoned and needs work. Keeping up with the mortgage, bills or taxes doesn't disprove abandonment if the property badly needs repair.
If the court finds the building abandoned or a public nuisance, it can order the owner to fix the conditions that make it a nuisance.
Before naming a receiver, the court gives people with an interest in the property a deadline to show they can do the work themselves. The court can then appoint a receiver to take possession and control of the property, but only someone who has shown a workable money and construction plan for fixing it.
The receiver can be a lender with a recorded interest, a local housing nonprofit, or anyone else the court finds qualified. The court can let the receiver hire the work and line up financing needed to fix the problems.
The inspection, abatement and receiver steps apply only in cities and counties that have adopted them by ordinance.
What happens to unpaid property taxes on an abandoned house in Iowa?
Where the county board has passed an ordinance allowing it, the county and its cities can bid on the overdue taxes of abandoned homes and vacant lots themselves. After one of those sales, the clock to end the owner's redemption rights can start after just three months.
For this purpose, an abandoned home is a residential building that has stood vacant and in violation of the housing code for six months in a row. Anyone who later buys such a tax sale certificate from the city or county must show they intend to fix up the home if the owner doesn't redeem.
The tax buyer can start the clock to end the owner's redemption rights after one year and nine months for an ordinary tax sale, but after only three months for one of these abandoned-property sales. The notice says the right to redeem ends, and a deed will be issued, unless the owner redeems within ninety days.
Redeeming means paying the county treasurer what the property sold for, plus interest of two percent a month.
Is there a shorter foreclosure redemption period for abandoned homes in Iowa?
Sometimes. If the mortgage includes the agreement, the court finds the property abandoned and the lender gives up any deficiency judgment, the redemption period after the sale drops to sixty days.
This applies to tracts of less than ten acres, and the mortgage itself must include the agreement.
The owner has the first thirty days of that period to redeem alone. If the owner appears in the case, the property is presumed not to be abandoned.
Own an empty house in Iowa and behind on the payments? See how foreclosure works in Iowa.
How do you report a vacant building in Iowa?
In Clinton, tell the city: it tracks vacant and abandoned buildings and asks residents to report any building that looks vacant or abandoned.
Clinton says those reports help its staff spot possible nuisances before they become habitual.
Owners register a vacant or abandoned building with Clinton's code enforcement office using an application form, any plan of action and a registration fee.
You can also tell me where it is. I'll find out who owns it and reach out about buying it and fixing it up.