Orlando City Commissioner Regina Hill is facing more bad news after a ruling handed down by the Ninth Judicial Circuit Court. Commissioner Hill was being sued by U.S. Bank over her 5-bedroom, 3-bath home located at 1790 Baywood Avenue, outside of city limits of Orlando. The Commissioner also claims to rent a property inside the city limits to qualify to serve in her district.
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In a non-jury trial on April 22, 2015, the court adjudged that U.S. Bank, as a trustee for GSMPS Mortgage Loan Trust, is due $164,081.57 in the case involving the Baywood property. The ruling also states the plaintiff holds a “lien for the total sum superior to all claims or estates of Defendant(s), REGINA I. HILL.”
If the total sum with interest is not paid, the property will be sold at public auction to the highest bidder in just three months on August 26th, according to the court documents.
The U.S. Bank lawsuit also includes various defendants along with Regina Hill, such as “Unknown Tenant #1, Unknown Tenant #2, Unknown Tenant #3, Unknown Tenant #4 the names being fictitious to account for parties in possession.” This raises additional questions about who may be living in the City Commissioner’s Baywood Avenue home. Other defendants listed include the “unknown spouse of Regina I. Hill,” the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and other involved parties.
The Orange County Property Appraiser shows Hill purchased the home back in 1997 at a sale price of $67,500 as part of a Housing and Urban Development program.
The court declared the plaintiff is owed $134,141.71 from Hill on the principal and nearly $15,000 in interest between July 2012 and April 2015. Adding up additional taxes and fees, the city commissioner owes the whopping $164,081.57. The total bears interest at the rate of 4.75% a year.
It appears Hill has had a long history of trouble with the property. Earlier this year, a special magistrate found Hill’s Baywood Avenue property had not complied with code inspectors or had repeated violations. Based on the findings of fact, it was ordered that Regina Hill as owner and violator pay Orange County an administrative fine in the amount of $250.00 per day for each day until remedied and constitutes a lien against her. Based on records available through the Orange County Comptroller, this matter has yet to be resolved.
All of this raises more questions about the newly elected city commissioner with a checkered past. Does she feel above the law by not complying with code enforcement? Was she paying her rent in the city limits but not paying for the home she owns? It all adds up to a lot of expenses for Hill to come up with in a short amount of time.
Commissioner Regina Hill will have to speak out and explain these matters to the public. Last week, local media reported newly elected County Commissioner Victoria Siplin was slapped with a foreclosure judgement and owed back taxes.
UPDATE: Commissioner Files Bankruptcy, Stalling Foreclosure Again
