bbm - Oh, don't I know it! We had Lead Poisoning with our DGS - we had to put $80K into our then $60K house. Guess what? It ain't worth $140K! We love it but owe more than the market value.
As far as the 'owner', the fine goes to the 'owner of record' at the tax office. Many foreclosures can drag out for YEARS because the people who were foreclosed on don't care (they lost their house, after all) and the banks don't file the paperwork to take ownership because then they would be responsible for the fines/taxes/upkeep. It is an UGLY mess. Ultimately, the fines go with the property - 'wherever' IT goes.
jmo