A local community in Pennsylvania has tapped in to a great resource, local students from Harrisburg Area Community College and Blue Mountain High School. The initiative to help the borough of Mahanoy City determine exactlyREAD MORE
Code Enforcement Liens: Carrot or Stick? Or both?
So I came across an interesting article, the headline, and in fact the article itself, was very matter of fact. The headline read “Code violators owe Estero more than $2M in fines. The Village CouncilREAD MORE
Pennsylvania Restore PA Initiative
In a recent article from WJAC, discussing the Governor’s new initiative, DCED Deputy Secretary of Community Affairs Rick Vilello has a very profound quote. “Vilello says blight often begins with small blemishes. First it startsREAD MORE
Bloomberg “The U.S. Mortgage Market Needs Better Plumbing”
“Zombie Foreclosures” a thing of the past? Not if you read this article! Great recommendations, especially geared towards avoiding foreclosure but as it pertains to blight, recommending transferring a property “as-is” is scary. Vacant propertyREAD MORE
Waterford MI Neighborhood Preservation Corps
What a great way to mobilize the community! Click here for an article from the Oakland Press promoting the initiative. The best part is the clear webpage created by the Township outlining the program includingREAD MORE
GOPC Report “Misconceptions About Vacant Property Registries” – an Analysis
In September of 2018 the Greater Ohio Policy Center issued a report “Misconceptions About Vacant Property Registries”. The report provides an overview of Vacant Property Registration Ordinances along with guidance for communities seeking to implement theREAD MORE
Short-term rentals, still murky as ever; and a blast from the past!
In an attempt to further get my arms around this issue I’m seeing more and more contradictions and disparity. Yet one similarity to the VPR space gave me a major flashback. Take this report fromREAD MORE
It Started Out So Well……….
An interesting article that discusses a logical and positive approach to addressing the universal concern of squatters, ends by discussing troubling legislation being proposed in the Hawaii Legislature. From the preamble in the legislation oneREAD MORE
Don’t Take on Unnecessary Risks
Perhaps I’m missing something but the recent enactment in Windber, PA of a rental registry struck me as odd. Rental registration ordinances are commonplace throughout the country. For the most part the programs and requiredREAD MORE
NJ A-5005 Is this really the issue? The solution?
On February 7th, A-5005 was introduced in the New Jersey Legislature by Assembly Democrats John Armato, Carol Murphy and Benjie Wimberly. Following is the summary of the proposed bill. Is this the issue regarding zombieREAD MORE
NYS Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli Report “Foreclosure Update: Signs of Progress”
Mortgage foreclosure filings across New York state dropped 46 percent between 2013 and 2018 according to a report issued by New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli, titled, “Foreclosure Update: Signs of Progress” Interestingly, local communitiesREAD MORE
Getting off the Hamster Wheel
True story. Several years ago, I was invited to present to the City Council and heads of the fire, police and building departments for a larger (200,000+) city on “zombie foreclosures” etc. First to arriveREAD MORE