In a comprehensive report, the Chicago Sun Times focuses on an increasingly popular approach to decreasing violence, often referred to as “greening”. “The city is spending millions to beautify the public spaces where shootings areREAD MORE
GAO Report on Reverse Mortgages
On September 25th, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), often called the “congressional watchdog,” issued a report on reverse mortgages. Reverse mortgages allow seniors to convert part of their home equity into payments from aREAD MORE
National League of Cities “Housing Market Conditions Across America’s Cities”
On September 10th, the National League of Cities issued a report titled “Housing Market Conditions Across America’s Cities” In this report, every medium and large city in America was analyzed, and includes tailored recommendations for strengtheningREAD MORE
Still a Valid Solution
Plywood was a pet peeve of my late father-in-law, Robert Klein. This “temporary” solution often became permanent resulting in the deterioration of individual streets and sometimes entire neighborhoods. This led him to found Secureview andREAD MORE
Universities of Boston and Stanford Paper: “How Do Foreclosures Exacerbate Housing Downturns?”
As discussed in a recent article from MarketWatch, “A new working paper authored by researchers at Boston University and Stanford University investigates the ways in which foreclosures exacerbate a housing bust and reduce prices for non-distressed homes.READ MORE
Governing Magazine “Addicted to Fines”
Last month, Governing Magazine issued a report titled “Addicted to Fines” The article discusses a large scale analysis of fine revenues to date, constructing a database from thousands of annual financial audits and reports filedREAD MORE
Baltimore Vacant Properties, is Public Shaming the Answer?
In a recent Op-Ed in the Baltimore Sun, Peter Duvall, community revitalization coordinator for Strong City Baltimore discussed new legislation being proposed by Councilman Kris Burnett. This legislation would “target the hard-to-track owners of vacantREAD MORE
New York Legislation Update
New York Legislative Update In August, we reported on S5079A Zombie Property Remediation Act of 2019, while it awaits the Governor’s signature (or veto) a recent editorial in the Daily Gazette suggests that the “GovernorREAD MORE
Legal Challenge to Omaha Ordinance
The Metropolitan Omaha Property Owners Association sued the city, the Mayor and several other city officials, calling the Vacant and Abandoned Property Ordinance “unconstitutional.” The claim “centers around a 2015 consent decree that was partREAD MORE
Interesting Headline – “Mayor calls upkeep of vacant homes waste of taxpayer money”
On August 19th, the Corpus Christi Caller Times ran a report titled “Mayor calls upkeep of vacant homes waste of taxpayer money”. It appears that he spoke out of a valid frustration of having toREAD MORE
New Jersey “Foreclosure Database” & “Land Bank Law”
Foreclosure Database Following a conditional veto, on June 24th, Governor Phil Murphy signed A5000 into law. A5000 orders the Department of Community Affairs to create a statewide database of all homes under foreclosure as aREAD MORE
NLC Municipal Action Guide Managing Foreclosures and Vacant Properties
In 2012 In order to help city leaders engage in foreclosure prevention efforts, NLC’s Center for Research and Innovation created “Managing Foreclosures and Vacant Properties, a Municipal Action Guide” that includes strategies for preventing vacancy,READ MORE