Hearing Officer Reviews Foreclosed Warsaw Property
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Jennifer [email protected]
The home built in 2005 is at 330 Ringneck Trail, Pheasant Ridge Subdivision, Warsaw, and owned by Kyle Babcock, who now lives in Fort Wayne.
In May 2009 the property was vacated by Babcock due to water issues, mold in the basement and water entering the foundation, and the property entered into litigation.
After lengthy discussion, Clifford reset the hearing for 1:30 p.m. Aug. 18 at city hall to continue discussion on the property and to determine if a civil penalty up to $5,000 will be imposed.
Clifford suggested the foreclosure process and litigation be moved along in completion in the next 30 days and the property be maintained.
“It’s crazy the city and neighborhood has had to put up with this,” Clifford said. “We need to get this moved along.”
Amanda Porter, attorney representing Doyle Legal Corp., Indianapolis, said Babcock still needs to sign a deed in lieu of foreclosure and has allowed additional liens to attach to the property.
The deed allows the borrower to voluntarily turn over the property to the lender to avoid foreclosure proceedings and allows the bank to get possession of the home.
Porter said intentions are to get the home sold and brought up to standards.
During Monday’s hearing, Todd Slabaugh, building commissioner, said he entered the residence in 2010 with permission by Babcock and noted that there was water in the basement as well as mold. Babcock did not respond to the request of the city that the nuisance be abated, according to Slabaugh.
The city then pursued a financial institution in 2012 to have the property maintained, mowed and remediated. The city could not assign responsibility or locate responsible parties involved.
In 2013, a letter was sent to legal counsel believed to be representing the financial institution that had taken possession of the property requesting it be mowed, the water issue remediated and proof of remediation.
In July 2014 the building department received complaints from neighbors about the status of the property of it not being mowed. The building department contacted attorneys representing the interested parties and requested that the property be maintained and verification of remediation. Legal counsel allowed the building department to enter the residence to perform an inspection.
On Thursday, Slabaugh performed an inspection of the exterior and interior and noted violations including the overgrowth of weeds, brush and grass. Upon entering the property an inspection of the basement revealed approximately one foot of water and the presence of mold and mildew and wet or waterlogged studs.
“The root cause of the groundwater coming in through the sump pump is foundation failure causing water to get into the home,” Slabaugh said.
Slabaugh said the home is in a nice subdivision, and if it is not maintained will affect property values.
Slabaugh determined the electric to the property had been disconnected May 5, disabling the sump pump in the basement.
Slabaugh estimated $15,000 to $18,000 in repairs to the home, and $8,500 for demolition.
In an e-mail to the Times-Union, Babcock said he thinks the City of Warsaw has some explaining to do.
“I never received a notice about this hearing from the city of Warsaw. My family and I moved out of this mold-filled house over five years ago after two court-ordered mediations,” Babcock said.
As a former Warsaw city councilman and Warsaw mayor candidate in 2011, he said he is not hard to find.
“The city of Warsaw should look up the mediation agreement that I signed that is on file at the court that says all maintenance on this house after we moved out is the responsibility of the lender, Indy MAC, and the builder who messed it up, Ousley Construction,” Babcock said.
He said he has waited eight years for justice on this house and looks forward to his day in court. He said this house is a tear-down and unfixable as it has been since the day he and his family moved into it in 2006.
As stated in the settlement agreement, after they moved out all expenses and maintenance after June 15, 2009, were the responsibility of the remaining parties and not him, he said.
“I'm waiting for them to make the required repairs on the house as they were told to do in the mediation agreement and put it on the market for sale. I’m then required to sign the deed over once they have a buyer for the property,” Babcock said. “The lawyer for Indy MAC seems to have forgotten the signed mediation agreement filed with the court. Trust me, if I knew there was a code enforcement hearing I would have been happy to attend and tell them my side of the story,” Babcock said. “I feel sorry for the neighbors in Pheasant Ridge having to deal with this eyesore in their neighborhood. This has been an eight-year nightmare for me and my family.”
In other business, hearings were reset for 1:30 p.m. Aug. 18 at city hall for properties deemed unsafe for Raul Ramos, 202 S. Union St., and William Kelly, 614 E. Center St.
Slabaugh said the front of the Ramos building was boarded up, but a window and door has been installed and said the home is 85 percent in compliance.
Ramos attended Monday’s meeting and said he is working on completing brickwork on the home and exterior siding.
“My concern is that we have been dealing with this for more than a year and we need to get this off the books and resolved,” Clifford said. “You’ve obviously been moving in the right direction. It needs to be gotten done so let’s get it done.”
Kelly’s home had issues with windows needing to be replaced, which has been done, and he is working on putting a metal roof on the home. Kelly said he expects the roof to be repaired this month.
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The home built in 2005 is at 330 Ringneck Trail, Pheasant Ridge Subdivision, Warsaw, and owned by Kyle Babcock, who now lives in Fort Wayne.
In May 2009 the property was vacated by Babcock due to water issues, mold in the basement and water entering the foundation, and the property entered into litigation.
After lengthy discussion, Clifford reset the hearing for 1:30 p.m. Aug. 18 at city hall to continue discussion on the property and to determine if a civil penalty up to $5,000 will be imposed.
Clifford suggested the foreclosure process and litigation be moved along in completion in the next 30 days and the property be maintained.
“It’s crazy the city and neighborhood has had to put up with this,” Clifford said. “We need to get this moved along.”
Amanda Porter, attorney representing Doyle Legal Corp., Indianapolis, said Babcock still needs to sign a deed in lieu of foreclosure and has allowed additional liens to attach to the property.
The deed allows the borrower to voluntarily turn over the property to the lender to avoid foreclosure proceedings and allows the bank to get possession of the home.
Porter said intentions are to get the home sold and brought up to standards.
During Monday’s hearing, Todd Slabaugh, building commissioner, said he entered the residence in 2010 with permission by Babcock and noted that there was water in the basement as well as mold. Babcock did not respond to the request of the city that the nuisance be abated, according to Slabaugh.
The city then pursued a financial institution in 2012 to have the property maintained, mowed and remediated. The city could not assign responsibility or locate responsible parties involved.
In 2013, a letter was sent to legal counsel believed to be representing the financial institution that had taken possession of the property requesting it be mowed, the water issue remediated and proof of remediation.
In July 2014 the building department received complaints from neighbors about the status of the property of it not being mowed. The building department contacted attorneys representing the interested parties and requested that the property be maintained and verification of remediation. Legal counsel allowed the building department to enter the residence to perform an inspection.
On Thursday, Slabaugh performed an inspection of the exterior and interior and noted violations including the overgrowth of weeds, brush and grass. Upon entering the property an inspection of the basement revealed approximately one foot of water and the presence of mold and mildew and wet or waterlogged studs.
“The root cause of the groundwater coming in through the sump pump is foundation failure causing water to get into the home,” Slabaugh said.
Slabaugh said the home is in a nice subdivision, and if it is not maintained will affect property values.
Slabaugh determined the electric to the property had been disconnected May 5, disabling the sump pump in the basement.
Slabaugh estimated $15,000 to $18,000 in repairs to the home, and $8,500 for demolition.
In an e-mail to the Times-Union, Babcock said he thinks the City of Warsaw has some explaining to do.
“I never received a notice about this hearing from the city of Warsaw. My family and I moved out of this mold-filled house over five years ago after two court-ordered mediations,” Babcock said.
As a former Warsaw city councilman and Warsaw mayor candidate in 2011, he said he is not hard to find.
“The city of Warsaw should look up the mediation agreement that I signed that is on file at the court that says all maintenance on this house after we moved out is the responsibility of the lender, Indy MAC, and the builder who messed it up, Ousley Construction,” Babcock said.
He said he has waited eight years for justice on this house and looks forward to his day in court. He said this house is a tear-down and unfixable as it has been since the day he and his family moved into it in 2006.
As stated in the settlement agreement, after they moved out all expenses and maintenance after June 15, 2009, were the responsibility of the remaining parties and not him, he said.
“I'm waiting for them to make the required repairs on the house as they were told to do in the mediation agreement and put it on the market for sale. I’m then required to sign the deed over once they have a buyer for the property,” Babcock said. “The lawyer for Indy MAC seems to have forgotten the signed mediation agreement filed with the court. Trust me, if I knew there was a code enforcement hearing I would have been happy to attend and tell them my side of the story,” Babcock said. “I feel sorry for the neighbors in Pheasant Ridge having to deal with this eyesore in their neighborhood. This has been an eight-year nightmare for me and my family.”
In other business, hearings were reset for 1:30 p.m. Aug. 18 at city hall for properties deemed unsafe for Raul Ramos, 202 S. Union St., and William Kelly, 614 E. Center St.
Slabaugh said the front of the Ramos building was boarded up, but a window and door has been installed and said the home is 85 percent in compliance.
Ramos attended Monday’s meeting and said he is working on completing brickwork on the home and exterior siding.
“My concern is that we have been dealing with this for more than a year and we need to get this off the books and resolved,” Clifford said. “You’ve obviously been moving in the right direction. It needs to be gotten done so let’s get it done.”
Kelly’s home had issues with windows needing to be replaced, which has been done, and he is working on putting a metal roof on the home. Kelly said he expects the roof to be repaired this month.
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