Council discusses abandoned house situation

This story was corrected March 8 3 p.m.

By Thomas Bias
BYRAM — There are roughly 40 abandoned properties in Byram. These are homes in various states of foreclosure or have simply been left and are now owned by banks.

While the banks have kept up with the tax payments, no one is necessarily taking care of maintenance.

Homeowners who live near the abandoned properties often are subjected to the sight of homes whose grass has not been cut and is becoming overgrown with weeds or whose snow is not shoveled in the winter. In the worst cases, these houses have been damaged, in some cases beyond repair. In some cases, an abandoned property can present a physical danger to its neighbors, as in the case of an exposed foundation which has filled with water.

Each year the Township sends letters to the mortgage banks, advising them of Byram’s property maintenance code, which requires the banks to take responsibility for vacant properties on which they hold the mortgages. The council said the township has no interest in seizing vacant properties nor in trying to sell or rent them.

Since in most cases the banks are paying the property taxes, the township has no legal basis to do anything other than enforce the maintenance code.

Recently the town had been in contact with the mortgage holder of a property on Sleepy Hollow Road which was badly damaged by a fallen tree. The bank had the tree removed last week.

According to Township Manager Joseph Sabatini, Byram Township’s problem of abandoned houses is no worse than any other community’s in northwestern New Jersey.

Township Zoning Officer John Gutwerk is taking more aggressive steps to ensure responsible parties maintain vacant properties, so that public safety and property values are protected.