Fairfax County is considering whether to fine mortgage companies for allowing foreclosed homes to slip into disrepair, potentially joining other governments across the country seeking to stem the damage of blighted, vacant properties.

County supervisors resolved this week to explore whether they have the legal authority to start charging the lenders for maintaining the derelict homes, and to compel them to register the structures once they enter foreclosure.

With such a measure, proponents hope to spare neighbors the hardship of living next to a deteriorating house, which are frequent targets of graffiti and vandalism and drag down surrounding property values. More than 2,000 Fairfax County homes have been foreclosed on this year as of June 30, according to county data.

“What I’m looking for is the same accountability in the banking industry that we get with our citizenry,” said Lee District Supervisor Jeff McKay, who proposed the fines on Monday.

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A similar measure passed in March by Prince William County, the Virginia jurisdiction hardest hit by the foreclosure crisis, a signal that such an initiative can be put in place without major legal roadblocks.

If the mortgage company or bank doesn’t do work like mowing the lawn, removing graffiti or repairing broken windows, Prince William officials hire contractors to fix up the home and transfer the cost onto a lien against the property.

“We have the right to place the lien on the property,” said Prince William Board of County Supervisors Chairman Corey Stewart. “We have not received any resistance [from mortgage companies] that I’m aware of.”

Other states, cities and counties across the United States have sought to recoup the costs of fixing up the vacant homes from the companies. California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill in June that allows localities to penalize lenders for leaving the homes to languish.

The California bill allows the government to hand out fines of up to $1,000 a day for not maintaining the homes. How Fairfax would structure the fines is yet to be determined.

McKay worried that without such an initiative, the glut of foreclosures could divert the resources of county strike teams that were created to target blight and overcrowding.

Neither the Virginia Mortgage Lenders Association nor the Mortgage Bankers Association, a national group, could be reached for comment Tuesday.

wflook@dcexaminer.com