The City shall establish and maintain a Foreclosure Property Registry to implement the terms of this chapter. The registry shall be maintained by the Building Department, in conjunction with the Code Enforcement Department, who shall develop procedures to implement this section which are consistent with and do not conflict with this chapter, this Code, or Washington law.
A. Registration Of Foreclosure Properties:
1. Inspection Required: Any lender who holds a security interest on a property located within the City of Orting which is under a current notice of default, is under a current notice of trustee's sale, is the subject of a pending Tax Assessor's lien sale, has been the subject of a foreclosure where the title was retained by the beneficiary of the deed of trust involved in the foreclosure, or was transferred under a deed in lieu of foreclosure/sale must perform an inspection of the property to determine whether the property is vacant within fourteen (14) days of the notice of default or other applicable proceedings to begin the foreclosure process. The Enforcement Officer can also inspect the property and trigger the registration process. If the property is found to be vacant or shows evidence of vacancy, it is deemed abandoned and shall be registered with the City in accordance with this chapter.
2. Registration Required: Any lender(s) or other responsible party(ies) of a foreclosure property as defined in this chapter shall register that property with the City of Orting within ten (10) days of the property becoming a foreclosure property within the meaning of this chapter by submitting an application pursuant to this chapter. All registrations are valid for one year. Once registered, the lender(s) or other responsible party(ies) shall renew the registration of the foreclosure property with the City every twelve (12) months, until the property is no longer a foreclosure property within the meaning of this chapter. A separate registration is required for each property.
3. Application For Registry: The content of the registration application shall include:
a. Proof of ownership, or financial interest, such as a lien or loan;
b. The name, address, phone number, and email address for the owner, lender, and responsible party and twenty four (24) hour contact phone number of the respective entity; and
c. Documentation which adequately demonstrates the property is foreclosed, pending foreclosure, or subject to foreclosure, trustee's sale, Tax Assessor's lien sale or other legal proceedings. The adequacy of the documentation provided shall be at the City's discretion.
4. Notice Of Change: The lender, owner, or responsible party shall notify the City within ten (10) days of the date of any change in the information contained in the registration. Lenders, owners, or responsible parties who have existing foreclosure properties upon enactment of this chapter shall have thirty (30) calendar days from the effective date to register the property with City. A separate registration is required for each property.
5. Registration Fee: Upon application for the registry, the lender, owner, or responsible party shall remit an initial registration fee to the City, the amount of which shall be set by resolution of the City Council.
B. Removal From Registry: A property may only be removed from the foreclosure property registry upon the lender's, owner's, or responsible party's written certification that: 1) the mortgage or lien on the property has been satisfied or legally discharged, 2) the property is no longer in mortgage default, or 3) the foreclosure property has been sold to a non-related party in a bona-fide, arms' length transaction. The following shall not be a valid basis for removal from the registry: a lender's statement that it no longer desires to pursue foreclosure; evidence of dismissal of lis pendens and/or summary of final judgment and/or certificate of title, or similar documentation, such as deed in lieu of foreclosure.
C. Transfer Of Ownership: If the mortgage on a registered foreclosure property is transferred, the transferee shall be subject to the requirements of this section and shall, within five (5) days of the transfer of the mortgage, register the property as a new registration in accordance with this section. Any previously unpaid registration fees are the responsibility of the transferee and are due and payable upon the new registration.
D. Sale Of Foreclosure Property: If the mortgagee sells a foreclosure property in an arms'-length transaction to a non- related person or entity, the transferee is subject to the terms of this section and shall register the property as a new registration under this section within five (5) days of the sale. Any previously unpaid registration fees shall be the responsibility of the new owner. For purposes of this chapter, a transfer to another entity which is under common ownership with the lender, as determined in the sole discretion of the City, is not an arms' length transaction. (Ord. 2018-1034, 9-26-2018)