A recent white paper was released by the Legal League 100, providing guidance and clarification on what constitutes a real estate property to fall under the category of “abandoned.” Legal League 100 supports the mortgageREAD MORE
Center for Community Progress American Rescue Plan Act Funding for Blight
Update January 7th The Center for Community Progress issued a press release regarding the U.S. Treasury Department’s Final Ruling clarifying that ARPA funds may be used by communities to address vacant, abandoned, and deteriorated propertiesREAD MORE
CCP Report on Land Banks and Community Land Trusts
A new report from the Center for Community Progress titled, ““Land Banks and Community Land Trusts (CLT): Partnering to Provide Equitable Housing Opportunities Now and for Future Generations” discusses land banks and CLTs, promising modelsREAD MORE
CCP & Federal Reserve Study “Tackling Vacancy and Abandonment: Strategies and Impacts after the Great Recession”
The Center for Community Progress and the Federal Reserve Banks of Atlanta and Cleveland released a new report titled “Tackling Vacancy and Abandonment: Strategies and Impacts after the Great Recession”, containing articles by national expertsREAD MORE
Albany County (NY) Blight to Betterment Task Force Report
The Task Force consisting of legislators, staff and community stakeholders was convened in June 2020 and has released their report. Per Co-chair Matt Peter (County Legislature 5th District – D) “blight is both a countyREAD MORE
Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative – Springfield Illinois Analysis
City of Springfield, IL recently utilized Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative Fellow Megan Willis-Jackson to provide an analysis, and recommendations to address vacant and dilapidated housing. Recommended changes included changes to; Inspection processes Legal processesREAD MORE
JAMA Study Municipally Funded House Repairs and Crime Rates
Recent article in the Wall Street Journal, discusses a July 2021 study in the Journal of the American Medical Association, that “found a tight link between municipally funded house repairs and a drop in crimeREAD MORE
Public Safety Strategies for Addressing Mortgage Fraud and the Foreclosure Crisis
In 2010 a report was released from the Center for Court Innovation supported by the Bureau of Justice Assistance, a component of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs, titled “Public Safety StrategiesREAD MORE
Comcate Webinar “How to Combat Vacant Property Blight with VPROs”
MuniReg President Michael Halpern was privileged to conduct a webinar titled “How to Combat Vacant Property Blight with VPROs”. In this webinar, Halpern provided an overview of the evolution of “Vacant Property Registration” ordinances, howREAD MORE
Continuing Educational Resources
Continuing Educational Resources Often state-specific presentation, though directed to a specific audience, provide additional insight and solutions into what are common concerns or issues. West Virginia University “BAD (Brownfield, Abandoned, Dilapidated) Buildings Program” is continuingREAD MORE
Money Well Spent – Land Banks
A recent study by Youngstown State University Williamson College of Business demonstrates a solid ROI. $21 million utilized to demolish abandoned homes, rehabilitate others and spruce up abandoned lots across Mahoning County (Ohio) returned $33.2READ MORE
SACA “Using Vacant Property Registration Ordinances”
The Standards and Codes Academy hosted an webinar with MuniReg President Michael Halpern presenting on the topic of vacant property registries. In addition to the overall discussion of what is a “VPRO” and what itREAD MORE