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Sebring council authorizes lien‑clearing contract to address chronic blight
Summary
The City Council authorized the city to retain Widener Law Firm for a contingency-based lien‑clearing and foreclosure program aimed at collecting long‑unpaid code‑enforcement fines, pursuing auctions of abandoned properties and encouraging voluntary compliance.
The Sebring City Council voted Oct. 7 to hire Widener Law Firm to pursue lien‑clearing and foreclosure actions against property owners who have accumulated long‑standing code‑enforcement liens.
Attorney Matt Widener outlined the program to the council, describing a “comply, collect and close” approach under which his firm fronts title searches, private investigators and filing fees, then moves cases to judicial foreclosure and public auction when owners are nonresponsive. Widener told the council the statutory process permits foreclosure actions as early as three months…
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