A town in Oregon is considering using a little-known law to seize vacant bank-owned properties, saying it will combat blight
Officials in an Oregon town are considering using a little-known law to seize abandoned foreclosures.
Medford, Oregon, is considering using the law to seize bank-owned properties that are sitting vacant, according to the Medford Mail-Tribune. Some 436 properties, mostly bank-owned, are currently vacant, often attracting drug users and vagrants, the Mail-Tribune reported.
City officials say they’ve tried without success to get owners of the abandoned properties in repair. Under the law, the city could seize these properties and begin to rehabilitate them – possibly even qualifying for grants and other federal programs in the process, according to the Mail-Tribune.
“I don’t think it will address the problem completely, but it will go a long way toward helping deal with it,” Deputy City Attorney Kevin McConnell told the Mail-Tribune. “It’s not an overnight solution. It could take years.”
On the other hand, McConnell said that the threat of foreclosure might finally spur banks to rehabilitate their properties themselves.
Medford, Oregon, is considering using the law to seize bank-owned properties that are sitting vacant, according to the Medford Mail-Tribune. Some 436 properties, mostly bank-owned, are currently vacant, often attracting drug users and vagrants, the Mail-Tribune reported.
City officials say they’ve tried without success to get owners of the abandoned properties in repair. Under the law, the city could seize these properties and begin to rehabilitate them – possibly even qualifying for grants and other federal programs in the process, according to the Mail-Tribune.
“I don’t think it will address the problem completely, but it will go a long way toward helping deal with it,” Deputy City Attorney Kevin McConnell told the Mail-Tribune. “It’s not an overnight solution. It could take years.”
On the other hand, McConnell said that the threat of foreclosure might finally spur banks to rehabilitate their properties themselves.
