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 property registration ordinance.
From the abstract;
“This paper tests the effectiveness of vacant property registration ordinances (VPROs) in reducing negative externalities from foreclosures………………..and we find that the enactment of VPROs in Florida more than halved the negative externality from foreclosure.”
From the last section of the paper;
“Given that VPROs had relatively little enforcement cost, indeed they raised revenue for the city, they seem a relatively efficacious way to directly address the foreclosure externalities arising from any future downturn in housing markets. Certainly compared to other interventions like the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) that attempted to forestall bank initiated foreclosures (and their spillovers) via costly inducements to banks, VPROs appear to be highly cost effective.”
To view the white paper, please click here.
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”, with the stated goals being;
- Protect and uphold the rights of tenants
- Tackle the growing cost of rent
- Invest in safe, healthy, and green public housing
- Fight exploitation by corporate landlords
With the ongoing challenge of easily identifying owners/landlords, one key component would include the creation of a “national public database of information about large corporate landlords, by requiring them to report key data to HUD.”
To view the Senator’s press release, please click here.
For a related article from The Hill, please click here.
As previously reported, Pennsylvania Governor Wolf has taken an aggressive approach to the fight against blight. Additional information is now available on the Governor’s website.
For an overview of the Combatting Blight component, please click here.
To watch an informative video, narrated by PA Lieutenant Governor, please click here.
To view a fact sheet on the Combatting Blight component please click here.
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. Senior Vice President, Clinical Redesign, UnitedHealthcare Community & State the program uses UnitedHealth’s money to pay for housing and support services for roughly 60 formerly homeless recipients of Medicaid at a pair of apartment complexes.
To view the article in its entirety, please click here
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 a prize of $75,000 that can be used at their discretion in support of furthering the city’s efforts to engage their citizens to tackle problems.
In response to significant property blight caused by a massive decline in population, the city, in partnership with Genesee County Land Bank, created the Flint Property Portal, which allows residents to easily report information on properties. Data collected through the portal enabled the city to receive a $60 million blight elimination grant through the U.S. Treasury Hardest Hit Fund. The grant funds have been used to demolish more than 4,000 blighted structures in Flint. The Land Bank planted low-growing clover in the cleared lots, which significantly diminishes maintenance needs and costs. Community members have since submitted more than 120,000 property messages through the portal, including self-reporting maintenance for 690 vacant lots.
For additional information, please click on the following links;
Cities of Service Press Release