IDEAS FOR SAFER COMMUNITIES Nearly 3.2 million foreclosures occurred in the U.S. in 2008, an all-time high. In

many jurisdictions, the number and location of vacant properties changed so rapidly that officials had trouble tracking them, let alone formulating an effective

response. The city of Cleveland, for example, estimated in early 2009 that at least

10,000 (or one in 13) of its houses were vacant while the county treasurer estimated that the number was 15,000—50 percent higher. 

While much of the public’s attention has been focused on the economic repercussions of the nation’s housing crisis, the repercussions for law enforcement have

been just as significant: vacant properties generate a host of interrelated problems,

from unsafe structures and higher rates of crime to homelessness and strains on

municipal services. 

Jurisdictions across the U.S. have responded differently, tackling the problem from

various angles. Many of the strategies deployed are the result of collaborations

across government agencies and among public and private sectors. Police, city

attorneys, district attorneys, U.S. attorneys, housing and building departments,

health departments, community development organizations, landlords, private

developers, banks, mortgage lenders, legislators, and regulators are finding ways to

work together to slow or halt foreclosures, stem the decline of neighborhoods,

improve quality of life, and plan for new growth.

This document offers a sampling of responses developed by jurisdictions across

the U.S. It is intended to serve as a quick reference for law enforcement and government agencies looking for ideas to address vacant and abandoned properties.

For ease of reference it is divided into three types of responses: Prevention,

Enforcement, and Reuse.

PREVENTION

❏ Measure costs of vacant/abandoned properties

Vacant property can exact a high financial cost on jurisdictions and neighborhoods. Accurate and up-to-date data that summarizes these costs is a

prerequisite to developing an intelligent response. It also helps enlist support for an initiative and is useful when attempting to measure outcomes.

Factors used to identify costs include the number of police calls for service, number of fires resulting in property damage, cost to demolish, cost

to clean vacant lots, loss of property value, code inspection costs,

increased need for social services, lost tax revenue, unpaid utility bills,

and the cost of filing lawsuits.

ADDRESSING FORECLOSED AND ABANDONED PROPERTIES | pg. 1 | www.courtinnovation.org

The Bureau of Justice Assistance supports law enforcement, courts, corrections, treatment, victim services, technology, and prevention initiatives that strengthen the nation’s criminal justice system. The Center for Court

Innovation works with criminal justice practitioners, community-based organizations, and citizens to develop creative responses to public safety problems.

This guide offers ideas 

to help policymakers, law

enforcement agencies, and 

community partners 

address the challenges 

presented by foreclosed 

and abandoned properties

ADDRESSING FORECLOSED

AND ABANDONED PROPERTIES

■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■
❏ Analyze foreclosures by rate, type, and location

A foreclosure analysis provides practitioners with

essential information for formulating a targeted and

intelligent response. An analysis should include the

number and proportion of each of these elements: 

• location (jurisdiction, community, and/or neighborhood); 

• whether or not the property is owner-occupied,

income-producing, vacant, and/or abandoned;

• whether the total amount of liens collectible

against the proceeds of sale exceed the fair market value;

• type (e.g., tax, mortgage, judgement); 

• amount filed and completed on individual properties within a span of time; 

• sales confirmed by court to lenders; and

• sales to lender who delay or never file a deed with

the Recorder of Deeds. 

❏ Create the position of Vacant Properties

Coordinator

In San Diego, a Vacant Properties Coordinator helps

ensure that a jurisdiction’s resources are appropriately

and effectively marshalled without waste or overlap.

An important question to consider: Which city

department is best equipped to serve as the home of

a Vacant Properties Coordinator? Responsibilities of a

coordinator can include:

• maintaining a database to track the location of

vacant properties as well as complaints and

responses;

• administering an abatement ordinance to clean and

secure vacant properties;

• coordinating responses and communication among

relevant government and private agencies;

• communicating regularly with community groups;

and

• serving as a liaison to task forces tackling problems—such as mortgage fraud and foreclosure—

related to vacant/abandoned properties. 

❏ Establish cleanup crews

The problem of dangerous, vacant buildings is so

large that Baltimore created dedicated teams to clean

and secure vacant properties. While these teams have

been in place for decades, management reforms in

2006 reduced the average cleaning and boarding

response time from 245 days to 12 days while at the

same time increasing the total cleanings and boardings from 13,000 in fiscal year 2004 to 42,000 in

2008. Cleaning up vacant properties not only helps

prevent crime and improve safety but also generates

revenue: Baltimore collected $2.3 million in fiscal

year 2008 from the resulting liens.

❏ Create a housing resource center

Information and resources can help homeowners,

landlords, and tenants cope better with fiscal crises

and possibly avoid foreclosure or eviction. Indio,

California, for example created a housing resource

center with the help of a non-profit Department of

Housing and Urban Development-approved counseling agency. The center is staffed with two housing

counselors, whose primary goal is to prevent foreclosures. They do this by facilitating discussions

between homeowners and banks and encouraging

foreclosure alternatives, such as loan modifications,

strategies for at least partially repaying overdue debts,

or temporary suspension of payment until a homeowner is able to pay.

❏ Educate prospective property investors

Prospective property owners who understand their

rights and responsibilities are more likely to abide by

zoning rules. In Baltimore, a city attorney and a private real estate attorney regularly speak before property owner association meetings to educate potential

investors about laws and regulations pertaining to

property ownership. 

❏ Notify the public

To hold delinquent property owners accountable,

some jurisdictions, like Buffalo, New York, place large

signs on properties with serious code violations. The

signs list the landlord’s name and contact information. Remember that signs must comply with local

sign regulations. These signs might also encourage

other landlords to remain compliant with building

and zoning codes.

❏ Develop a process to clear legal title for heirs

Heirs need clear title to property to be eligible for

rehabilitation programs. Therefore, jurisdictions

ADDRESSING FORECLOSED AND ABANDONED PROPERTIES | pg. 2 | www.courtinnovation.org

This fact sheet was compiled by Roxann Pais, former executive assistant city attorney in the Dallas City Attorney’s Office, and Robert V. Wolf, director of communications at the

Center for Court Innovation. This project was supported by Grant No. 2009-DC-BX K018 awarded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance. The Bureau of Justice Assistance is a component of the Office of Justice Programs, which also includes the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the National Institute of Justice, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency

Prevention, and the Office for Victims of Crime. Points of view or opinions in this document are those of the authors and do not represent the official position or policies of the United

States Department of Justice. Published April 2010.
should try to streamline the process. Consider asking

the local bar association or law school to establish

legal clinics to address this issue.

❏ Require banks to regularly inspect their

properties

After foreclosing on a property, many mortgage holders fail to maintain the property adequately. Indio,

California, adopted a municipal law in April 2008

that requires banks and lenders to register properties

with the Indio Police Department when a notice of

default is issued and when a property becomes

vacant. More importantly, the ordinance requires

banks to inspect their properties weekly and fully

maintain them. 

❏ Offer temporary and/or extended financial 

assistance

In Louisville, Kentucky, $350,000 in government

funds was provided to help 70 families with up to

$5,000 each to cover shelter and utility bills. If the

recipient homeowner stays in the home for another

10 years, the loan is forgiven. If the house is sold during the 10 years, the homeowner has to pay back a

pro-rated portion of the loan. 

❏ Establish an emergency loan program

Jacksonville, Florida’s City Council created an antiforeclosure program to provide no-interest loans of up

to $5,000 to troubled homeowners. This helped 40

homeowners who faced a short-term financial crunch

but who could afford to pay their mortgage over the

long run. 

❏ Contact NeighborWorks America

NeighborWorks America is a national non-profit

organization created by Congress to provide financial

support, technical assistance, and training for community-based revitalization efforts. The Housing and

Economic Recovery Act of 2008 appropriated $180

million to NeighborWorks to continue the National

Foreclosure Mitigation Program. This appropriation

provides funds for foreclosure counseling, legal assistance to homeowners facing foreclosures, and administrative expenses associated with the program. For

more information, visit www.nw.org.

❏ Encourage the public to help identify

vacant structures

Increase public awareness by engaging in a community-wide campaign to help identify vacant structures.

In Chicago,, residents can call 311 (the city’s nonemergency hotline) to provide vacant structure

addresses. Chicago also launched an “Every Minute

Counts” campaign that encourages financially

stressed homeowners to call 311. Callers are immediately connected to a credit counseling agency for a

free telephone counseling session. The counseling

agency: (1) provides in-depth assessment of the

homeowner’s financial situation; (2) serves as a liaison between the homeowner and mortgage company

to advocate a repayment plan, loan modification, or

other loss mitigation strategies to avoid foreclosure;

and (3) provides referrals to local resources for job

training, tax assistance, emergency grants, and foreclosure prevention classes. Faith-based organizations

also advertise services at Sunday sermons. 

ENFORCE

❏ Launch a vacant property registration system

Under the vacant property registration system in

Chula Vista, California, out-of-town lenders must: (1)

record assignment of a deed of trust; (2) inspect the

property upon recordation of mortgage default; and

(3) register the property if it becomes vacant and is in

mortgage default. The owner must hire a local contractor to secure the property and also post contact

information on the property. Owners have 10 days to

comply. For non-compliance, the jurisdiction can

issue administrative citations and civil penalties and

recover the full costs of city enforcement. Another

remedy is receivership is also available as a remedy. 

❏ Establish a vacant property maintenance and 

registration ordinance 

Components of such an ordinance might include: (1)

a requirement that the property undergo a thorough

interior and exterior inspection to document conditions; (2) a sliding scale under which the registration

fee increases with every year the property remains

vacant; (3) Vacant Property Owner Responsibility

Code, including stringent standards for cleaning and

boarding properties; (4) full contact information of

owners, including a requirement that out-of-county

owners designate a local agent to act on their behalf;

(5) minimum insurance requirements; (6) bond that

is forfeited in the event the city is required to demolish the property; and (7) provisions that unpaid fees

or costs become a municipal lien. 

❏ Require vacancy license and liability insurance

Require an owner to get a license whenever a building is uninhabitable. If the property is fixed up and

becomes habitable again, the owner no longer has to

retain a license. In Cincinnati, the fee for the initial

year is $900, and the fees then increase to $2,700 a

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year. If the fees are not paid, the jurisdiction can

institute a civil action and file a lien on the property

on which the jurisdiction can then foreclose. In addition, the owner must maintain liability insurance in

the amount of $300,000 for residential property and

$1 million for commercial property. 

❏ Require statement of intent for vacant

properties 

Require owners of vacant properties to submit for

approval a “Statement of Intent” to bring vacant

structures into productive use. In San Diego, the

Statement of Intent includes: (1) the expected period

of vacancy; (2) a maintenance plan during the period

of vacancy; and (3) a time line for the lawful occupancy, rehabilitation, or demolition of the structure. 

❏ Impose a tax on abandoned property 

Pursuant to authority under state law, Louisville,

Kentucky, imposes an abandoned urban property tax

on properties that have been vacant or unimproved

for one year and have been tax delinquent for at least

three years or violate certain maintenance standards.

The abandoned urban property tax is three times the

regular property tax rate. 

❏ Establish graduated fees for code violations

Wilmington, Delaware, has implemented a set of

stiff, graduated fees based on the number of years the

property is vacant (for example, $500 per year).

Several months before assessing the fees, send

notices to each owner offering a one-time, one-year

fee waiver if the owner rehabilitates, sells, or demolishes his or her property. While the goal of the program is to get vacant properties back into shape and

into use, the program also collects revenue to cover

the costs of monitoring, citing, and prosecuting noncompliant owners.

❏ Establish “blight penalties”

When property owners fail to take corrective action,

Indianapolis code inspectors can issue “blight penalties” which are typically $2,500 per violation but can

go as high as $7,500. The higher penalties not only

offer landowners a strong incentive to meet code

requirements but also generate significant income. In

2008, 750 penalties of $2,500 each generated over

$1.8 million. 

❏ Demolish a boarded structure after 60 days

In Minneapolis, the city can fine and demolish a

vacant property if it fails to meet minimum standards

and has been boarded up for 60 days or more.

❏ Define “nuisance”

Define “nuisance” under state law. For example, if

three or more criminal activities occur within 30 days

on the same property, the property is declared a nuisance. Note that definitions vary from state to state.

Under Ohio law, for example, the definition is more

broad than under Texas law. Ohio includes: animal

violations, disorderly conduct, endangering children,

litter, liquor violations, theft, and open burning. 

❏ Make “nuisance” crimes a felony 

Arizona has created a state law that makes failure to

abate serious nuisances a felony. 

❏ Enforce no-trespass statutes 

Authorize police, as in Portland, Oregon, to enforce

no-trespassing statutes on city-owned properties to

remove unauthorized persons.

❏ Evict tenants convicted of crimes 

Adopt a law requiring a landlord to evict a tenant

who has been arrested within 1,000 feet of the unit

for a violent or narcotic crime. Give the jurisdiction

the authority to evict the tenant if the landlord fails

to fulfill the obligation. Under LA California

Ordinance Sec. 47.50, the landlord must evict and if

the landlord does not, the city may file an action for

injunctive relief or take other appropriate action to

require the landlord to comply with eviction. 

❏ Expedite tax foreclosures 

Seek state legislative changes to ensure that tax foreclosure leads to clear, marketable, and insurable title

in a timely fashion, as has been done in Maryland,

Michigan, and New Jersey.

❏ Improve efficiency of tax foreclosure procedures 

Consider establishing an aggressive program to take

title to vacant tax-delinquent properties. Such a program might include: (1) decreased time between tax

delinquency and foreclosure; (2) procedures to speed

the conveyance of properties to the government, such

as elimination of the judicial sales requirement when

the amount of the tax lien is greater than the fair

market value of the property; and (3) explore the use

of a housing court as a venue for tax foreclosures. 

❏ Foreclose liens to recover demolition expenses 

Texas Local Gov. Code Sec. 214.004 allows a municipality to foreclose a lien on the property if: (1) a

building or other structure has been demolished and

a lien for the cost of the demolition has been created;

(2) that cost has not been paid in more than 180 days

ADDRESSING FORECLOSED AND ABANDONED PROPERTIES | pg. 4 | www.courtinnovation.org
after the date the lien was filed; and, (3) ad valorem

taxes are delinquent on all or part of the property. 

❏ Assign a community prosecutor 

Assign a community prosecutor to develop creative

legal responses to vacant structures and the crime

that occurs around them. For more information about

community prosecution, contact the National Center

for Community Prosecution at (703) 549-9222.

❏ Hire or train dedicated prosecutors and

investigators to combat mortgage fraud 

Because mortgage fraud is so complex, prosecutors

and investigators need a thorough understanding of

its intricacies. Prosecutors in Wayne County,

Michigan, have found that it sometimes takes months

of working on mortgage fraud cases exclusively before

prosecutors become adept at identifying law breaking

and building strong cases. 

❏ Create an enforcement task force 

Establish a team that brings resources of different

city departments together as it relates to enforcement

and prosecution. Tucson, Arizona, calls its team

SABER (Slum Abatement and Blight Enforcement

Response). Baltimore calls its team TEVO (Targeted

Enforcement toward Visible Outcomes). 

❏ Create a ‘Bank Day’ docket for code violations 

While ownership remains with a borrower, the bank

retains its lien on the property. That opens up a dispute over who is responsible for taxes and maintenance. Even when lenders complete the foreclosure,

they may walk away from the property, leaving jurisdictions to seize it for unpaid taxes, a process that

can take years. Jurisdictions need to make banks

keep foreclosed homes in good condition until buyers

are found. As an alternative, jurisdictions can urge

lenders to donate property to community groups or to

pay for demolition when houses are beyond repair.

These goals can be achieved through a “Bank Day”

docket supported by an ordinance that defines

“owner” to include lien holders or those in control of

the property. Such ordinances exist in Buffalo, New

York, Chula Vista, California, and Cleveland, Ohio. 

❏ Partner with federal prosecutors to pursue 

civil asset forfeiture 

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Tulsa, Oklahoma, seized

nine properties and gave them to non-profit developers. The federal government does not have to take

control of a property until the civil forfeiture action is

complete. The state has to take control immediately. 

❏ Prosecute predatory/fraudulent lending 

Consider partnering with city attorneys/district attorneys/U.S. attorneys to prosecute predatory/fraudulent

lending. Baltimore was concerned with disproportionately high rates of foreclosures in minority communities and filed suit against mortgage lenders under the

federal Fair Housing Act on the basis that Baltimore

prohibits housing or mortgage lending based on race,

religion, gender, or sexual orientation. 

❏ Use inspection warrants 

Create code, as in Texas, allowing inspectors to

obtain a warrant for entry to conduct fire, health, and

code inspections. 

❏ Ensure that commercial building inspectors are 

properly licensed 

Inspecting buildings requires specific training.

Jurisdictions may need to train code inspectors and

have them obtain a commercial building inspector

license. Code inspectors can contact the

International Code Council for classes and testing

(www.iccsafe.org).

❏ Create a ‘Top 10’ list to focus resources 

on the worst properties

In Indianapolis, the Mayor’s Office created a Top 25

list, modeled after a criminal most wanted list, to target the worst properties in the city for rapid and comprehensive remediation. Properties on the list, which

is continually updated as properties are ameliorated,

undergo an aggressive nuisance abatement process

that can include repair orders, receivership, land

banking, and demolition. 

❏ Triage problem properties

Indianapolis has developed a rapid triage process by

which police officers and Fire Department personnel

enter information about problem properties into

portable laptop computers, and the data is transmitted to the Marion County Health and Hospital

Corporation, which is responsible for building code

enforcement. The Health and Hospital Corporation

then prioritizes each complaint; for example, a property that had experienced a fire receives top priority,

which means that the Health and Hospitals

Corporation will send an investigator within 24

hours; the presence of high weeds or people loitering

on a vacant property generates an inspection within

48 hours. The lowest priorities receive on-site inspection within 72 hours. 

ADDRESSING FORECLOSED AND ABANDONED PROPERTIES | pg. 5 | www.courtinnovation.org
❏ Seek authority to address vacant, unsecured 

structures 

Establish or enforce statutes, like those in Texas, that

allow jurisdictions to require vacating, securing,

repairing, removing, or demolishing a building that

is—regardless of its structural condition—unoccupied and unsecured. 

❏ Post the housing court calendar on 

the internet 

The Baltimore housing department posts information

about vacant properties, including Housing Court

calendars, on the internet. Officials have found that

neighborhood stakeholders use the internet to actively track cases and report non-compliance with court

orders, giving the housing department an extra set of

eyes and ears to enforce compliance. 

REUSE

❏ Consider demolition 

Demolition is a common tool for managing properties

that are so dilapidated or unsafe that they don’t

attract viable investors. Buffalo, New York, is administering what it calls the “5 in 5” Demolition Plan.

The initiative, launched in 2007, calls for bringing

the vacancy rate in Buffalo down to five percent by

demolishing over 5,000 properties in five years. 

❏ Coordinate demolition with economic

redevelopment 

The key to successful demolition is coordinating it

with economic redevelopment, which means not only

tearing down dangerous structures but doing so in a

way that makes the property suitable for reinvestment. 

❏ Create a demolition strategy 

Philadelphia’s demolition strategy, which officials use

to make informed demolition decisions, includes

information about: condition of structure, level of

vacancy, nearby anchors (social, cultural, and economic), ownership characteristics, parcel characteristics, proximity to elementary school, neighborhood

home sales, household turnover rates, market quality,

and proximity to industrial land uses. Questions to

consider: How much does your jurisdiction spend on

demolition costs per year? Does your jurisdiction

have a strategic spending plan? 

❏ Create a land bank 

Many cities have created land banks through which

local governments acquire property and then map

strategies for reuse—typically either selling the land

to private developers or deploying it for a public purpose. In Dallas, the Urban Land Bank Demonstration

Program seeks to foster the creation of affordable single-family homes on vacant tax-delinquent land.

❏ Create a Weed and Seed program 

The U.S. Department of Justice-sponsored Weed and

Seed program (www.ojp.gov/ccdo/ws/welcome.html)

promotes a multi-agency strategy (including partnerships between police and prosecutors) to reduce

crime and promote social and economic revitalization. Dallas has four Weed and Seed sites, including

one launched in 2003 in West Dallas, where 40 to 50

percent of the lots are vacant.

❏ Maintain a web site listing vacant property

Columbus, Ohio uses the web to publicize properties

available for acquisition. 

❏ Draft a Vacant Structure Report 

A Vacant Structure Report provides an inventory of

existing structures that are currently vacant and suitable for redevelopment/re-use. In State College,

Pennsylvania, the Vacant Structure Report includes a

picture, tax parcel number, address, square footage,

number of parking spaces, zoning, usage,

water/sewage capability, and contact person.

❏ Target key neighborhoods for investment 

Dallas created the Neighborhood Investment

Program in 2003 to funnel city resources to neighborhoods with high concentrations of vacant, tax-delinquent residential lots, structural violations, and

streets needing repair. To qualify, neighborhoods need

a strong foundation on which to build—specifically,

at least 50 percent of residences must be owner

occupied. From 2003 to 2005, five neighborhoods

received increased police patrols and code enforcement, a full-time community prosecutor, and street,

sidewalk, and park improvements. In addition, the

Dallas Housing Department has targeted two streets

within the Neighborhood Investment Program for

massive redevelopment. For both streets, the city has

designed a master plan that includes new sidewalks,

pedestrian lighting and landscaping as well as new

housing and mixed-use development. 

❏ Resell tax foreclosed property for less than 

market value 

Under Texas Prop. Code Sec. 34.051, a municipality

is authorized to resell tax foreclosed property for less

than the market value specified in the judgment of

foreclosure or less than the total amount of judgeADDRESSING FORECLOSED AND ABANDONED PROPERTIES | pg. 6 | www.courtinnovation.org
ments against the property if consent to the conveyance is evidenced by an interlocal agreement

between the municipality and each taxing unit that is

a party to the judgment. Note that the interlocal

agreement must comply with certain requirements.

❏ Develop a “$1 Garden Lease Program”

Vacant lots in the Columbus (Ohio) Land Bank are

available for lease to community groups, adjacent

property owners, businesses, and others interested in

beautifying or greening their community. Past projects

include community gardens, landscaped pocket

parks, green space, and other projects that improve

the surrounding neighborhood.

❏ Create a side-yard program

Vacant lots that are too small for redevelopment or

are otherwise not developable may, under the sideyard program in Columbus, Ohio, be purchased by

an adjacent property owner for a nominal price. The

adjacent owner must abut the vacant lot and agree to

consolidate the land into one parcel. 

❏ Sell vacant lots at affordable prices 

Columbus, Ohio, runs the “$500 Vacant Lot

Program” through the Columbus Land Bank. Most

properties are in neighborhoods in need of significant

investment. These lots are priced considerably below

market value and are available to developers interested in building single-family houses for homeownership. To ensure the property is developed according

to Land Bank policies, an agreement between the

developer and the city is attached to the deed requiring the property to be developed in a certain manner

and within a specific time period. If the developers

fail to follow the agreement, the city can revert ownership back to the Land Bank. These lots are listed

on the “City Property for Sale” link on the City of

Columbus web site. 

❏ Encourage receivership 

Receivership allows private investors to bear the cost

of renovating a property while also reaping a financial

benefit. Through receivership, a municipality helps a

third party—typically a non-profit organization but

sometimes an individual experienced in rehabilitating

houses—obtain a court order that gives it control over

a property. The third party brings the property up to

code and then sells it, recouping its investment plus

profit based on a pre-determined percentage of the

sales price. In Indianapolis, the vacant housing coordinator has created a list of potential receivers, all of

whom have been vetted to ensure that they have the

experience and financial wherewithal to carry out

successful property rehabilitations. 

❏ Broaden receivership laws 

Broaden receivership laws to allow for others besides

non-profit organizations to serve as receivers. Actively

recruit receivers such as community development

corporations or individuals with a proven record of

rehabilitating properties, as has been done in

Baltimore, New Jersey, and Texas.

❏ Make it easier to clear municipal liens 

Create judicial procedures for clearing titles to lowvalue properties whose owners cannot satisfy liens.

This may encourage selling and buying the property.

Many property owners will pay taxes but will not pay

non-tax liens. Non-tax liens may be extremely high, 

which may prohibit sale or development. 

❏ Provide special financing for property 

in troubled neighborhoods

In New York City, the Community Preservation

Corporation, a non-profit lender established by a consortium of banks and insurance companies, focuses

on acquisition, refinancing, and improvement lending

for small- and medium-sized properties (which represent the majority of vacant structures in New York).

❏ Build greater capacity for community 

development corporations 

Consider these alternatives: (1) create a single central

entity to provide land assembly services to community development corporations; or (2) enhance the land

assembly capacity of a small number of existing community development organizations, which would then

provide services to other CDCs as well as continue to

do their own assembly activities. Cleveland, Ohio,

follows the first example with a program called

Neighborhood Progress Inc., www.neighborhoodprogress.org. 

❏ Provide financial support to community 

development corporations 

New Jersey established a new fund, the PLAN (Predevelopment Loans and Acquisition for Nonprofits)

Fund, to support community development organization acquisition efforts. Capitalized at $10 million, it

provides credit lines for acquisitions and land-banking efforts by CDCs with solid track records. 

❏ Reach out to real estate agents 

Reach out to real estate agents and encourage them

to sell vacant structures. Establish a link between the

ADDRESSING FORECLOSED AND ABANDONED PROPERTIES | pg. 7 | www.courtinnovation.org
jurisdiction and real estate agents for publically

owned property available for sale. 

❏ Purchase mortgages in crisis

Have community housing development organizations

buy homes in foreclosure and lease them to the former owners while helping them prepare to repurchase them, as has been done in Trenton, New

Jersey.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Visit:

www.courtinnovation.org 

Write:

Expert Assistance

Center for Court Innovation

520 Eighth Avenue

New York, New York 10018

Call: (212) 373-1690

E-mail:

expertassistance@courtinnovation.org.

ADDRESSING FORECLOSED AND ABANDONED PROPERTIES | pg. 8 | www.courtinnovation.org