Flint homes, like this one in Carriage Town, are often neglected by out-of-state owners.The Genesee County Land Bank uses the tax foreclosure process to seize abandoned and derelict Flint properties. Now Dan Kildee is looking for new ways to deal with blighted and vacant houses.
Kristen Longley of The Flint Journal reports:
Real estate speculators beware — if you don’t take care of your property, a move is on to come after your wallet.
Inspired by the city of Flint’s blighted and vacant housing crisis, former county Treasurer Daniel T. Kildee is pushing for reform that would allow government agencies to sue property owners who don’t take care of their homes.
Kildee said a money judgment through the court system would allow agencies, such as the Genesee County Land Bank, to recoup the cost of fixing up and maintaining the properties it takes on through the foreclosure process. He plans to take the matter up with local lawmakers over the next several months as part of his “Michigan agenda” in his new position as head of the Center for Community Progress, a national land use nonprofit supported by the Ford and Charles Stewart Mott foundations.
