Updated October 6, 2021 Federal Housing Administration (FHA) New and Extended COVID-19 Relief options for Borrowers On September 27, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) announced new and extended COVID-19 relief options for borrowers recently orREAD MORE
American City & County “Municipal leaders should improve property registries to combat property blight”
MuniReg President Michael Halpern contributed an article to American City and County pertaining to best practices for “VPROs” in order maximize its effectiveness. Municipal leaders should improve property registries to combat property blight Hundreds ofREAD MORE
“Neighborhood Zombie Watch Program”
Following up on Erie County (NY) ZOMBIES Initiative, County Clerk Mickey Kearns unveiled the next phase called “Neighborhood Zombie Watch Program”. Kearns announced that the new watch program will allow county officials to place signsREAD MORE
Pushback…..on Registration Fees
Historically concerns have been raised regarding excessive fees associated with vacant property registries. A recent report in the Twin Cities Pioneer Press discusses an instance where the $2,000+ fee resulted in additional hardships for aREAD MORE
Another Broken Dream?
WKSU, Kent State University’s public radio station recently focused on the housing market in Youngstown, OH and a new problem arising a decade after the housing bubble. The February 25th report focuses on lease-to-own contractsREAD MORE
California SB 1079 Residential Property Warehousing
Update 12/28 Please see following articles for comprehensive review of the new legislation National Law Review: SB 1079: Changes to Nonjudicial Foreclosure Process Aim to Benefit Tenants, Primary Residence Occupants and Community Groups; Uncertainty LoomsREAD MORE
“Invest & Neglect” Lawsuit
As opposed to targeting individual properties and individual owner, the City of Detroit is taking a different, and aggressive approach challenging the overall philosophy of “Invest & Neglect”. In addition to the three complaints inREAD MORE
West Virginia Takes Aim at Blight
Several bills have been introduced into the West Virginia Legislature. Interesting about the first one, there is no indication where local governments will receive funding for this initiative. House Bill 4097 ” requiring municipalities to maintainREAD MORE
New York State Addresses Senate’s Report on Code Enforcement
Back in August 2019, we discussed the NYS Senate report that found a systemic failure to prioritize code enforcement at all levels of government. Following up on that report, a series of bills have beenREAD MORE
Productive Use Strategies
Non-Profit Partnerships “One strategy in particular is making a resurgence: the reuse of uninhabited and abandoned properties for low-income affordable homeownership.” This quote comes from a recent article in NPQ (Non-Profit Quarterly). The article discussesREAD MORE
Unintended Consequences?
A recent article discusses amendments to a “VPRO” that now require “owners’ names and contact information be displayed on placards outside houses on the vacant building registry.” This approach, though clearly well intended, brings upREAD MORE
Changing Landscape – House Hacking
Whether it was Zillow or Roofstock, the short-term rental market, the constantly rotation of mortgage servicers, or most recently entities like Fleq and Divvy, the landscape of who owns or who occupies properties in yourREAD MORE