H&H Blitz in your neighborhood?

Question

My investment zone is Indianapolis, Indiana.  Since last year, and accelerating in aggressiveness this year, the Health and Hospital Dept has dispatched a veritable army of pawns to raise money for the county.  As a landlord with many properties, it is frustrating to respond to hearing notices for negligible and/or transitory "issues", like fallen branches in the yard, "scattered debris", etc.

I'm having trouble keeping up with the 100-pg "Housing & Environmental Standards" manual and its overactive "enforcement" in my zone!

I think the municipality is trying to raise funds for an ailing budget!

Anyone else having similar issues?

Darron Chadwick · Answer

Uwe K

In Central Indianapolis, Code enforcement employees are paid hourly workers that drive around looking at properties that have been called upon by someone (usually in the neighborhood) normally Code enforcement won't just act on a property if they see a violation during a drive by (too much paper work for them ) they have to focus on the Property in question since a complaint has been filed the paper trail has started then ---- yes you usually get a letter , then if more complaints get filed you as the property owner will start visiting court on a monthly basis ( I can tell you it is a complete nightmare) Until THEY (H&H) deems you have done what they feel is the correct fix for the situation. to give an example in my situation I was order to board up windows on a second floor apartment building (while doing renovations, workers every morning would remove the new boards and re-install them every evening until the work was complete) also lets not forget that these boards had to be painted the same color as the building

I have learned that if you get H&H on you should get a listing of ALL violations and get them done asap H&H has a ton of power and have the ability to fine you and in extreme instances seize property.

Uwe K. · Answer

I don't quite understand.
So the code enforcement guy comes out, looks at xyz (e.g the fallen tree branch), says it's not ok, and then? How does he get money from that?

Here I would get a notice from the city/inspector, typically in the mail, that I, the owner, need to correct the xyz code violation(s) within x days. Could be tall weeds, garbage, woodwork needs painting, razing order, or anything in between.
The city doesn't request a penny from me until they re-visit and it's not completed or deadline extended, then I get fined.

Darron Chadwick · Answer

We had 2 properties in Down Town herron morton area 16th & central area 
we were constantly dealing with H&H, after speaking with Jason Dorphlien of H&H. I found that we were be targeted by some people in the neighborhood. Jason gave me a list of the neighbors complaints some were legit and some were just crazy like (weeds in a flower bed) H&H won't do anything about weeds unless they are over 12" tall. He explained that the city is cracking down but most of the time it is the neighbors that get them rolling. I owned Downtown for 20 years and I can tell you that once I started focusing my deals outside of the loop H&H no longer bothers me I think they are to lazy to drive that far.

Vincent D. · Answer

I'm not satisfied with bloated bureaucracies and their wasteful spending being subsidized by penalty to the people in one form or another.  You speak of vigilance in terms of picking up a dead branch the moment it falls in your tenants yard, essentially.  I see vigilance having a greater role in this scenario, such as turning our senses to a growing disease taking more and more dangerous ground in our lives and livelihoods.

Nathan Emmert · Answer

Personally?  Absolutely.

Why?  Because again, I could choose to avoid them.  Avoiding income tax is hard... avoiding property tax on properties I already own is hard.  Not speeding, even by 1 mph is easy.

We can complain all we want about Government needing too much money, thus the reason for the new revenue streams... but complaining about the fines doesn't change that.  In general, I'm too lazy to do the work which would change it.  So I make the best of the rotten situation and appreciate opportunities to avoid the additional taxation.

Vincent D. · Answer

I suppose we all see the world a bit differently.  I'd RATHER they did not do EITHER, and I don't acquiesce that either burden is justifiable.  If you are presented with a rotten apple, and you balk, then given a rotten banana and told to choose, would you be content that rotten fruit was being thrust upon you in the broader scenario?  Not I.  You seem content to give the govt ground on the slippery slope, strangely.  If they hem you in, over time, with ever-broadened regulations, you'll end up wearing gov-issued underwear and feeling content to be compliant with the new underwear regulation b/c you're a law-abiding citizen.

As for speeding tickets, perhaps you might better see my point if I compare these overreaching H&H infractions to a citation for going 56mph in a 55 zone.  Are you content with that?

Nathan Emmert · Answer

Would you rather they just raise the property taxes?

They need money, they will get it.  You should be happy, they are doing it in a way you can avoid allowing you to shift that economical burden to others who are less vigilant.

It's like when they raise the fines for speeding or parking tickets as a way to increase revenue... I say GREAT!  Why?  Because I don't get speeding or parking tickets.  The Government gets their extra money and not a cent of it comes out of my pocket.

Vincent D. · Answer

exactly.  what's more, i suspect the motive behind the onslaught has much more to do with economics than preservation of general health standards.

Bill Gulley · Answer

Good example of regulatory influences that I have commented about recently in other threads. Such issues can put small landlords in a pinch over time. Indy should have a landlords association and they might start ringing the phones at city hall. I'm all for a clean and healty city but I don't see zapping a landlord that is trying to keep up and being reasonable.

Vincent D. · Answer

bloodsuckers!