Sometimes simplicity is all that is needed. No need to over complicate matters. Jamestown NY has a clear section on its homepage to allow constituents to report a vacant property. For communities that may notREAD MORE
Oswego NY Blight Reduction Loan Program
In a positive step another local government is utilizing the tax rolls to address blight in their community. After years of hearing the frustration over “clean and lien” programs (both having to “clean” and thenREAD MORE
Challenges to Nuisance Property Legislation
Update May 2, 2024 As a direct result of the lawsuit filed in Bedford OH, Mount Vernon OH is discussing repealing its own ordinance. For more information, please click here. Update January 11, 2023 AREAD MORE
New Hampshire “Zombie Foreclosures” Legislation
New Hampshire Following in the Footsteps of New York State’s “Zombie Foreclosures” Legislation? HB 235 was introduced earlier this year in the New Hampshire Legislature. Interestingly, the bill text mirrors closely the “zombie foreclosure” legislationREAD MORE
Mount Vernon OH Confusion surrounds vacant property registry
Interesting article that discusses some of the nuances inherent with vacant commercial property registration and the attempt to draft proper language. Article provides comments from the Mayor, various councilmembers and the Law Director on severalREAD MORE
LSU Department of Sociology Study Linking Blight and Homicide
A new study led by LSU Department of Sociology Assistant Professor Matthew Valasik is the first to show a statistical connection between homicide, blighted buildings and convenience stores in Baton Rouge. He is the firstREAD MORE
Federal Appeals Court: Saginaw vacant property registry doesn’t violate U.S. Constitution
A federal appeals court has rejected a challenge (class-action lawsuit brought by residents) to a Saginaw ordinance that requires owners of vacant properties to allow the city to enter if the property becomes dangerous. TheREAD MORE
GAO “Additional Mortgage Servicer Actions Could Help Reduce the Frequency and Impact of Abandoned Foreclosures”
Featuring the topic of “bank walkaways”, in November 2010 the General Accounting Office issued a report titled “Additional Mortgage Servicer Actions Could Help Reduce the Frequency and Impact of Abandoned Foreclosures” Following are the highlights, theREAD MORE
HUD Office of Policy Development and Research (PD&R) 2014 report “Vacant and Abandoned Properties: Turning Liabilities Into Assets”
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD’s) Office of Policy Development and Research (PD&R) issued a report in 2014 titled “Vacant and Abandoned Properties: Turning Liabilities Into Assets” Following are the highlights withREAD MORE
2005 The National Vacant Properties Campaign Report “Vacant Properties The True Costs to Communities”
In one of the original reports on this topic, The National Vacant Properties Campaign (now the Center for Community Progress) discuss the true cost to communities as a result of vacant properties. Executive Summary ByREAD MORE
Albany Law School Research Paper “Regulating Vacant Property”
In 2011 a research paper was issued by the Albany Law School, authored by Keith H. Hirokawa and Ira Gonzalez. Local governments have recently noted a correlation between the characteristics of neglected properties (e.g., unkemptREAD MORE
Joe Schilling 2009 Study on Vacant Property Registration Ordinances
In 2009 Joseph Schilling (senior research associate in the Metropolitan Housing and Communities Policy Center and Research to Action Lab at the Urban Institute, at the time of the study Director of Research and PolicyREAD MORE