Look at me! I just found ya 6 taxpayers! OOPS, it is too late…

I created my own definition today.

 

HOUSE WHORE: VERB, 1. The act of buying up homes by a “so-called investor”, not getting, or misrepresenting building permits, allowing unlisensed, unregistered, or unqualified individuals or companies to work on these homes,not getting required inspections on the work that the individuals mentioned above performed, then either renting, leasing, or selling the property to someone else with absolutely no record of responsibility and safeguards that the work was done safely, properly, or even legally.

 

I inquired on Friday the 13th about the permit for the home pictured below. I was told by the lady at the Building Department that the owner pulled the permit indicating that he was vinyl siding three sides of the home by himself and listed the valuation at $1,800.00 which matches the permit that is actually in the front window.This means in the vast majority of the time that IF the owner applied for the permit HONESTLY and LEGALLY and was doing the job all by himself, that there was eighteen hundred dollars of materials that were purchased to do the job that he was installing all of the materials him/ herself.

Here are some of our city ordinances, AKA LAWS!!!

 

 

 

  

 

 

1501.03  PERMIT APPLICATIONS

 Such application shall describe the proposed work and shall give such additional information as may be required by the Chief Building Inspector for an intelligent understanding of the proposed work.

 

IF the work is being done by someone else besides the owner and getting paid anything at all, I would believe that they would be considered a contractor or subcontractor. There is a law that was written by our city just for them. 

 

1501.09  CONTRACTOR REGISTRATION AND REQUIREMENTS.

Registration and Bond Required.  Any person, firm or corporation engaged in contracting, construction, alteration, repair, removal or demolition of buildings or structures, as a business for profit in the City shall, before entering into such a business or doing any part of the work, register with the City and furnish a surety bond to carry on such business or work within the City.  The bond shall be subject to approval of the Chief Building Inspector and shall ensure that the applicant shall comply with all provisions of City Building Codes, Ohio Revised Code, City ordinances and all lawful rules and orders issued pursuant thereto, and in an amount as follows: ECT ECT

 

  Can everyone follow me so far? The owner of the property by me pulled a permit for $1,800.00 stating that he/ she was doing the work themselves and the ONLY THING THE BUILDING DEPARTMENT WOULD THINK TO INSPECT IS THE THREE SIDES OF VINYL SIDING THAT IS THE ONLY THING LISTED ON THE PERMIT THINKING THAT THE OWNER INSTALLED IT ALL BY HIM/ HERSELF. 

There are reasons why permits and registrations are required in this city. Here is the ordinance that explains why…

 

		1501.04  PERMITS

 

(a)     Registration with Income Tax Administrator Required.  Any and all general contractors, contractors and/or subcontractors performing any work within the City shall register with the City Income Tax Administrator prior to the issuance of any permits with respect to construction.  General contractors shall list all licensed subcontractors performing any work on behalf of the general contractor on any and all permit applications.

 

		(b)     Responsibility of the Income Tax Administrator.  The Income Tax Administrator shall note upon the general contractor’s, contractor’s and/or subcontractor’s application for a building permit that such general contractor, contractor, and/or subcontractor has registered with him in accordance with the rules and regulations promulgated by such Administrator and transmit such information to the Building Department.

 

		(c)     Action on Application.  It shall be the duty of the Chief Building Inspector to examine applications for permits, within a reasonable time after filing.  If after examination, he finds no objection to the same and it appears that the proposed work will be in compliance with the laws and ordinances applicable thereto and the proposed construction or work will be safe, he shall approve such application and issue a permit for the proposed work as soon as practicable.  If his examination reveals otherwise, he shall reject such application, noting his findings in a report to be attached to the application and delivering a copy to the applicant.

 

 

Now that the LAW has been REPRINTED FROM THE CITIES WEB SITE, you be the judge. Does the owner of this home, with the permit for $1,800.00 indicating that he/ she  is doing all the work him/herself qualify to be called a “HOUSE WHORE”

 

By looking into the opened door it sure looks like a whole lotta drywalling has been going on along with some plywood has been installed over the possibly ROTTEN porch floor.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

According to the picture below this owner that was going to do all of the work all by him/her self has been able to clone him/ herself AT LEAST SIX TIMES! 

 

 

Looks like a little more than just siding. I see six guys installing doors, windows, and siding. 

 

 

 

 

Here is the 6th guy that you can’t see in the first picture actually INSTALLING A NEW DOOR.

So what does the three pictures above indicate? Obviously NOTHING to our building department because I went to the building department last Friday and filled out a written complaint. Then I called again yesterday and left a message, and as I look out at the house now at 9:00 AM Tuesday June 17^th, it looks like just about all the guys are pretty much done over there.

According to the County Auditors web site, it appears that a home on West 35th Street is the mailing address for this property along with THREE OTHERS, so who wants to bet the owner LIVES IN ALL FOUR? 

Is a HOUSE WHORE outright breaking the law or improving our neighborhoods? Does a ”House Whore” pay taxes and get checked out by doctors/ inspectors to make sure they are safe or should we just do away with all inspections of existing homes?

 

If our city was hurtin for money should it try to collect monies from folks that are avoiding paying taxes before they raise fees for those that follow the law? Do you think they would be thankful for all of the help they can get from the residents collecting more of it or am I just a disgruntled person because I shut down my company that did many of the same things that were done to this house.

 

 

With one in thirty eight homes with a mortgage in foreclosure in Lorain, along with a very “discouraged” housing market, is it a good thing there is a bunch of folks buying up homes for pennies on the dollar, investing a few bucks into them, and either flipping them or renting them out for someone else to live in?