On December 18th 2019, Delegate Ibraheem Samirah D – Counties of Fairfax (part) and Loudoun (part) 86th District has introduced HB 150 into the Virginia Legislature. Per the Summary “Allows certain localities to impose aREAD MORE
USA Today Report on “Reverse Mortgages”
“Most issues can be traced back to faulty loan servicing with an often-revolving cast of loan companies” Similar quotes were frequent during the last foreclosure crisis. However this quote comes from a USA Today report onREAD MORE
Enactment of NYS S.5079-A/A.1859-A “Zombie Property Remediation Act of 2019”
On December 18th issued the following press release regarding his signing of the “Zombie Property Remediation Act of 2019” To view the final language, please click here. To view local reporting, please click here. NewREAD MORE
New Path to the American Dream
Property conditions are generally contingent on several factors. Of course occupancy status is the primary factor but there are several others including usage and who resides in the property (i.e. owner occupant vs. rental/tenant). However,READ MORE
NJ S1155 VPRO Legislation Progresses
Following a March 4, 2019 referral to the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee, S1155 was reported from the Committee and given a 2nd Reading. To view the current text of the proposed bill, please clickREAD MORE
Strong Stance Against Zombie Foreclosures
In an aggressive approach to “zombie foreclosures, at the request of Alderman James Martuscello, Amsterdam NY Common Council members unanimously voted against removing a property from the tax auction list and accepting a payoff paymentREAD MORE
Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta White Paper on VPROs
The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta just released a white paper on “VPROs” titled, “Foreclosure Externalities and Vacant Property Registration Ordinances” Not surprisingly the study showed positive outcomes from the implementation of a vacant propertyREAD MORE
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) Proposes a “Tenant Protection Bureau”
Several of the 2020 Presidential hopefuls have revealed their housing plans, mostly focused on affordable housing. Recently Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) released an updated proposal which advocates for the creation of a “Tenant Protection Bureau”,READ MORE
Innovative Solution for a Health Care Crisis, a Solution for Vacant and Abandoned Properties?
A radical fix for a U.S. health-care crisis prominently utilizes vacant and abandoned properties. In a recent feature, Bloomberg Businessweek discusses the MyConnections program currently being tested in Phoenix. The brainchild of Jeffrey Brenner, M.D.READ MORE
Flint MI Recipient of a Cities of Service 2019 Engaged Cities Award
Flint MI was one of three recipients of the Cities of Service 2019 Engaged Cities Award. Underwritten by Bloomberg Philanthropies, the award recognizes cutting-edge techniques to engage residents to solve problems.Each winning city receives aREAD MORE
Solar-powered security monitors
In the latest effort to battle blight, Schenectady NY Mayor Gary McCarthy announced the city will install solar-powered security monitors in a number of vacant city-owned properties across the city. The monitors will be installed asREAD MORE
Ohio Land Bank Lawsuit….Sorry, but your math is wrong
Along with vacant property registration ordinances, Land Banks are one of the more widely used tools in the fight against blight. Now, class action lawsuit have been filed by former Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann,READ MORE