Bank starts cleaning filthy house

June 9, 2010 at 12:04a.m.

By Elise Franco

Canfield

First Place Bank wants to breathe new life into a home that Canfield police once described as deplorable.

The bank, which owns the property at 535 Brookpark Drive in foreclosure, has hired a contract company to begin the rehabilitation process on the home, said City Manager Joe Warino.

The 4,596-square-foot home, which was owned by Georgia Holowach, has a market value of $344,600 and was built in 1967, according to the Mahoning County auditor’s website.

The home has been vacant since October 2009, after Holowach’s daughter Betsy Spin, 32, and her husband, Brian Spin, 38, were found living there amid garbage, mold and animal and human waste with their two small children and at least 12 dogs and cats.

Brian and Betsy Spin each pleaded guilty April 21 to six counts of animal cruelty and two counts of child endangering.

Brian Spin was sentenced to 30 days in the county jail but was released April 26. Betsy Spin was sentenced to 75 hours of community service. Both are on probation for one year and were ordered to pay $100 on each count and $1,000 in restitution to the Canfield Police Department, according to court records.

Warino said the city was about to begin advertising for bids on demolition services last week when they found out First Place had begun the rehab process.

“The bank has proceeded with the foreclosure,” he said. “They’re taking an aggressive approach to the rehabilitation.”

Warino said the rehab crews were instructed to remove anything not attached to the house.

“After they do that, [the bank] will evaluate what the extent of the work will be,” he said.

A representative from First Place Bank didn’t return calls to comment Tuesday afternoon.

Warino said that the bank’s decision to renovate the home is good news for the city.

“This will save us between $15,000 and $20,000 in demolition costs,” he said. “Collectively, we’d like to see something happen with the house rather than have a vacant property there.”

Warino said it’s not likely the city would have recuperated the demolition costs.

“The only hope we had of recouping the cost would be if we sold the land,” he said. “I don’t know how likely that would have been.”