The Real Estate Bloggers: Snow Removal Costs $300 an hour in Minneapolis For Banks

Snow Removal Costs $300 an hour in Minneapolis For Banks

In Minneapolis, there are 50 percent more homes in foreclosures this year than last. In St. Paul, there are four times more vacant homes than in 2006. It means more work for the city–both Minneapolis and St. Paul have a rule, stating snow must be cleared within 24 hours.

If a sidewalk stays covered in snow for more than a day, a letter is mailed to the address. If nothing happens, city crews come and do the work. The city of St. Paul charges $160 an hour, while Minneapolis charges $300 an hour—plus a $103 citation.
“We only have limited resources to do the work,” said Minneapolis city spokesman Mike Kennedy.

If there are no homeowners to pay the snow removal costs, it will be forwarded to the bank that owns the foreclosed home.

— via The Real Estate Bloggers

Those small $103 citations stack up rather quickly when it’s snowing a lot. Perhaps they’ll hire additional snow movers to get that revenue from banks.