A decade of accumulating code enforcement fines in Deltona has landed two military families in a tangled foreclosure fight, with $125,000 in municipal liens on one house now reaching into the finances of an entirely different property. Lianne Habets and Karel Klarenbeek bought an investment home on Eden Drive in Deltona, only to learn that liens from a Tulip Street property they had no connection to could now put their own house at risk.
The dispute, reported by FOX 35 Orlando, centers on a Tulip Street property purchased by Carl Monserrate for his parents. That house carries $125,000 in unpaid liens, according to the outlet, and because Florida liens attach to the property owner rather than a single address, the debt was able to follow Monserrate to his other holdings, including the Eden Drive house now owned by Habets and Klarenbeek. The original code enforcement violations reportedly occurred while the current owners and their family members were living or serving abroad, and FOX 35 Orlando reports the violations have since been cleared up, even as the fines tied to them kept accumulating at a daily rate for more than ten years.
A Deal Gone Sideways
Monserrate has said he knew he would be responsible for at least some of the liens when he bought what FOX 35 Orlando described as an overpriced Tulip Street fixer-upper, and that he was promised $125,000 back under the purchase contract specifically to pay them off. His realtor reportedly told him he could keep some of that money if the city agreed to reduce the lien amount, and a special magistrate did in fact recommend wiping out the liens on the Tulip Street house, per the outlet's reporting. Monserrate used the $125,000 to repay his own loans rather than settle the debt, the station reports, and he has described the entire situation as a misunderstanding that left multiple families caught in the middle.
The City of Deltona reversed course after learning the money had been provided for lien repayment, according to FOX 35 Orlando, and began seeking full payment, this time targeting the Eden Drive property owned by Habets and Klarenbeek after Monserrate's money had already been spent. The couple says they were told before closing that the liens would be resolved and would not affect them. They now argue they should not be liable for debts they say were undisclosed and originated at a property they never owned.
The Statewide Rules Behind the Dispute
Florida's code enforcement statute gives some shape to how a case like this can escalate. Under the 2025 Florida Statutes, Section 162.09, a fine tied to a code violation continues to accrue until the violator comes into compliance or a court renders judgment, whichever happens first, and any lien stemming from that fine runs in favor of the local government, which retains the power to issue a release. The same statute states that once three months have passed with a filed lien still unpaid, an enforcement board may authorize the local government's attorney to foreclose on the lien or sue for a money judgment that includes accrued interest. That conditional language describes what a city is permitted to pursue, not a guarantee that foreclosure must follow in every case.
Deltona's own code compliance materials describe its special magistrate as an attorney under contract with the city, authorized to impose administrative fines and other noncriminal penalties as what the City of Deltona calls an equitable and inexpensive method of enforcing local codes. That same mechanism has surfaced in other Deltona cases. A separate matter saw a special magistrate recommend cutting a $1,900 fine down to the city's documented enforcement costs after a HUD-subsidized property corrected an unpermitted mobility-chair violation, according to a report from Citizen Portal published in May 2025. In another case the outlet covered, city code compliance director Richard Levin presented several delinquent-lien properties to the magistrate, seeking authorization to let the city's attorney begin foreclosure proceedings. Those cases are limited examples and do not establish how often Deltona pursues this path, but they show the foreclosure authorization process has been used elsewhere in the city.
A Separate Fraud Case Deepens the Couple's Losses
Habets and Klarenbeek's financial troubles extend beyond the lien dispute itself. The couple has said that Marc Brown moved their money to his title company without permission and stole it, according to FOX 35 Orlando's reporting. Brown is now in jail on charges of money laundering and grand theft, and he is accused of stealing from several clients, including more than $260,000 from the couple's title funds, the outlet reports. Habets and Klarenbeek have recovered some of that money through the criminal case and through title insurance, but the recovered funds are being held in a court registry, where they cannot accrue interest or be invested.
Compounding the confusion, the Eden Drive property never had an official closing, according to FOX 35 Orlando, which has left the real estate company that found the buyers without the commission it was owed. Lisa Mazella told the outlet that she and her husband are owed $20,000 on the deal. Karel Klarenbeek, meanwhile, has reportedly experienced worsened PTSD symptoms that his family associates with the ongoing stress of the dispute.
Who Should Pay Remains Unsettled
Habets and Klarenbeek believe they should not have to pay liens they say were undisclosed and that arose from violations at a property they never owned. Lianne Habets has said she sees no reason the city could not release them from the dispute, and the couple believes the original Tulip Street seller should not bear responsibility either, since she had given Monserrate the lien money under contract with the expectation it would be used to pay the city. The City of Deltona has declined to comment on the matter, citing the ongoing legal case, FOX 35 Orlando reports, and a formal resolution between the city and the affected families remains uncertain.
