One in Every Thirty Houses Abandoned
The city of Indianapolis in America has been struggling to cope with the ever increasing rise in houses being left abandoned by those who could no longer afford to keep up with the rising costs of taxes and mortgages.
During the past several months many of these properties have become crime scenes and one out of every 30 abandoned houses are being overtaken by weeds and rubbish.
Job losses, bankruptcies and forecloses are high on the list within the City and rather than struggle to find money to pay bills, eat and buy essentials people are just packing up and moving out of their homes.
According to a study made by the ‘Abandoned House Work Group’ in 2004 there were almost 8000 properties abandoned. This figure has risen yearly and is now classed as a massive problem for the City.
New ‘Online Land Bank’
With the help of a new web site (indylandbank) theses properties are now being put up for sale at a price that is well affordable to anybody.
City officials are urging police officers to buy the properties with bargain prices as low as $2,500 but stipulate they must live in them for three years. This is aimed at helping the local crime rate drop and making neighbourhoods safer to live in.
City leaders are starting with bids on the internet via the new site on abandoned homes the city now owns. Bidders can land a home for $5,000 or make their own offer.
"We have room to negotiate there," said Duane Ingram, manager of Land Bank. "This is not a drop dead amount."
Mayor Greg Ballard is supporting the sales of homes via the website and believes it is the city’s biggest weapon on tackling the problem so much so that he has made it one of his top priorities.
These empty homes that are causing such an eyesore have lowered property values within the neighbourhood and have led to more police having to patrol these areas.
Police are now entering abandoned and vacant properties into a computer database. City agencies promise to board up and secure dangerous homes within 24 hours of discovery.
A spokesperson for the city said the city would need "48 hours if it's a nuisance property where there are drugs, prostitution, and people hanging out."
By law the city has no control on an abandoned property as long as the taxes are paid, but after five years accumulated violations they have the right to demolish them. In one year alone, almost ninety such empty homes have been torn down.
Other Cities Struggling with Abandoned Houses
The mortgage crises in America are forcing families to foreclose on their homes and potential buyers are few and far between. This has led to Indianapolis looking towards other cities such as St Louis to see if they can learn anything from them and how they are coping with their abandoned homes situation. (WayneCounty, Detroit has one of the largest online land banks that are struggling to cope with over 50,000 abandoned homes).
Bank manager Duane Ingram of the Indy Land Bank has high hopes for the website. He said “It makes it more visible because without the website no may have known about the problem”
Photographs with the addresses and estimated market value are shown on the website and there is a helpful link that provides demographic information on the surrounding area.
The sale of such properties can be achieved with six weeks and with prices as low as £500 and officials are hoping it will help alleviate this ever growing problem of properties laying empty as well as provide housing for those in need.
