Overgrown grass and dead sod have become a huge problem at a dead Villager’s home in the Village of St. James.
The residence at 2202 Hopespring Loop was purchased by Kelly Geehan in December 2014 but it became a part of his estate in September, Sumter County property appraiser records show. It’s now in foreclosure with Wells Fargo, which has promised to submit a work order to get the property cleaned up, according to Community Standards Manager Candy Dennis.
On Friday, supervisors from Village Community Development District 8 voted during their regularly scheduled meeting to find the owner of the property in violation of deed compliance rules. The action follows a complaint that was received by Community Standards on Oct. 3 and verified the following day.
An initial letter with photographs was mailed to the property address and to Wells Fargo on Oct. 8, followed by a second letter eight days later. The third letter with a photograph was sent on Nov. 19, according to Dennis.
Following Friday’s action, the property must be brought into compliance within three days and if that happens, the case will be closed. If not, the District will take over maintaining the property and impose a $250 fine to be paid within 10 days of the invoice.
In addition, supervisors authorized the District to maintain the property twice a month in the summer and once a month in the winter, as needed, and impose a $250 fine each time it maintains the property. If the fines reach $1,500, the case will be turned over to District Counsel to “seek all available remedies,” which may include initiating a lawsuit, seeking an injunction against the owner and placing a lien on the property.
