The numbers of homes in some form of foreclosure in Deerfield Beach for the first 6 months of 2008 are 7 times higher than they were in all of 2007. Those numbers have prompted the city to act to try and keep the city looking good despite the financial woes of some foreclosed homeowners.

"It (the yard of an abandoned home) speaks for itself. People don't want to be living next to a house that looks like this," said Rick Pribell.

The city of Deerfield Beach's code enforcement board was presented with a list of 37 of the worst foreclosed and abandoned properties on Monday. The Code Enforcement Board will ask the owners of those 37 properties to bring homes up to compliance, or begin facing fines.

"We've been inundated with complaints from mosquitoes in these stagnant pools and there's certain health issues associated with that," said Deerfield Beach City Manager Michael Mahaney.

Last week, the Deerfield Beach Commission set aside $50,000 to hire contractors to clean up the properties as early as this week.

Mahaney said the use of taxpayer money to clean up the properties is only temporary as banks will take over the property once foreclosure is complete. The city will also put a lien on the property to try and recoup any city money spent.

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To view a list of the referenced properties, please click here.

About Safeguard
Safeguard Properties is the largest privately held field services company in the country. Located in Cleveland, Ohio and founded in 1990 by Robert Klein, Safeguard has grown from a regional preservation company with a few employees and a handful of contractors performing services in the Midwest, to a national company with over 500 employees. Safeguard is supported by a nationwide network of subcontractors able to perform any requested superintendence, preservation, and maintenance functions, as well as numerous ancillary services in the U.S., the Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico.