8. HRSR 10-06-2008 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

City Management Qf Vacant Fropert~es Revise Rental Licensing and Housing Codes: Re-examine rental licensing programs and housing codes and revise or add to where needed to prevent lack of deferred maintenance and the lack of safety and security of affected housing stock. Effective ordinances include Point of Sale Code Compliance ordinances, Public Nuisance Abatement ordinances, Long Grass Ordinances, etc. s If your city does not license rental properties, consider licensing as a method of tracking changes in use from ownership to rental and inspecting rental building conditions. Step Up the Use Legal Remedies: Enforce administrative code and use legal remedies. See list of helpful city ordinances to the right. Legal remedies can include, for example, tenant remedies actions and nuisance actions which can be brought by a local government, a local community group, a tenant, or other concerned parties. Track Your City's Foreclosures and Sub-Prime Loan Concentrations: Track existing foreclosures and use external and internal data resources (such as city early warning systems4 and the Federal Reserve data on sub-prime loan concentrations) in a coordinated city/county-wide manner to predict future distressed homeowners and manage vacancies. For example, some cities tag homes that appear vacant or have not paid their monthly water bill and leave information requesting the homeowner contact the city within several days - if no contact is made, the city turns off the water to the properry~. Implement Ordinances to Address Foreclosure Impacts • Point Of Sale Code Compliance Ordinance • Vacant Building Registration • Public Nuisance Abatement (removal of junk cars, garbage, building materials) • Long Grass Ordinance • Recoup Vacant Property Monitoring and Board Up Costs • Recoup Costs Of Excessive Use Of Services Track Vacant Properties: Employ a vacant and/or boarded property registry and ask community residents to report vacant properties immediately. Educate Landlords: Educate landlords on obligations under city ordinances and state laws regarding property maintenance, rental licensing. Creative Board Ups: In areas where board-ups are rampant consider use innovative boarding techniques, such as artistic board-ups Acquisition, Rehabilitation Neighborhood Recovery Target Public Funding and Financing Tools: Publicize financing tools that may assist new home owners to acquire and rehabilitate foreclosed properties. Examples include a The City Living Program in St PauF , Northside Home Fund in Minneapolis s, City Advantage in Minneapolis, HUD 203(k) loans10, Minnesota Housing's CASAt~ and Fix-up Fund, 1'- and use of local HRA levy dollars in key areas. Develop New Strategic Partnerships: Build partnerships with for- profit and non-profit redevelopers, lenders, realtors and other community based organizations that focus on the recovery of specific targeted geographic areas of your community.13 Explore Bulk Purchasing Strategies with Local Developers and Lenders: Partner with local non-profit and fox-profit developers to negotiate bulk purchase of properties from lenders to proactively revitalize affected neighborhoods and prevent foreclosed homes from falling into the hands of unscrupulous speculators. Coordinate Early Warning Data an Foreclosures and Sub-Prime Loans to Target Outreach. and Remediation Efforts • Track Utility Billing (Late Payers) And Usage To I.D. Vacant Homes and Prevent Water Damage • Track City Inspection And Enforcement Reports • Monitor Federal Reserve Data On Sub Prime Loan Concentrations By Local Zip Code • Monitor County Sheriff Data To Track Street Address Level Foreclosure Locations • Monitor State Foreclosure Reports At GMHF And Housing Link Web Sites • Monitor Values Through County Assessor Data and Property Tax Records • Monitor Police Reports to LD. Problem Properties