BluegrassForeclosure.com

As metro government looks for ways to take a more active role, a law enacted this spring by the Kentucky General Assembly and signed by Gov. Steve Beshear should work in the city’s favor.

Newly filed liens by metro government for penalties and costs associated with boarding, grass cutting, demolishing and otherwise caring for private property now take a higher priority for payment.

When the properties sell in foreclosure or otherwise, the government’s costs will be repaid back before the mortgage and all other liens except taxes.

Previously, the government’s costs took a back seat to the mortgage and any other interests that were recorded first. That meant the city rarely recouped its costs.

The change does not affect liens that were on the books before the law was signed, but one immediate impact is more leverage over banks, Mims said.

“Maybe we will contact the lenders, saying, ‘Look, we are getting ready to put a lien on this property and our lien status will be higher than your mortgage status,’ — in hopes that the lenders will say, ‘OK, we will take care of this matter,’ ” Mims said.

“Our mission shouldn’t be to try to generate a bunch of revenue here. It should be to gain compliance and get these properties cleaned up,” he said.  Courier-Journal.com.