Land Bank to Buy, Fix and Sell Repossession Homes
Andy Meisner, newly appointed treasurer of Oakland County, Michigan has proposed to set up a county land bank to buy, renovate and sell repossession homes. But his proposal was met with skepticism by the Oakland County executive.
Meisner proposes that the county purchase and manage mortgage-foreclosed and tax-foreclosed homes to maintain them and placed them on responsible hands so that they would not become blights to neighborhoods and pull down housing values.
He describes a land bank as incubator of vacant repossession homes that can be used by local governments, community stakeholders and the private sector to avoid any damage that the foreclosure crisis can bring on home values and community stability.
He said that the land bank can work on the 61 communities in the area, including Pontiac and Bloomfield Hills.
County executive L. Brooks Patterson confirmed that Meisner submitted his land bank proposal to county officials. He said that Meisner's proposal would be heard by members of the Board of Commissioners who will file a resolution if they approve the proposal.
However, Patterson pointed out that Meisner's land bank plan lacks financial estimates and specifics. He said that the main issue would be the cost considering that the county is in a cutting mode and there is no money available for nonessential programs.
According to Meisner, he was not able to provide a cost estimate because the program to buy, fix and sell repossession homes is still on the study table. In 2008, the county received about $17.4 million under the neighborhood stabilization program to purchase or fix blighted or foreclosed properties.
Meisner clarifies that he is not proposing to buy all foreclosure properties, but instead buy, fix and sell as many as the county can. He said that land banks eliminate the tax burden during renovation and allow the immediate clearing of the property's title. Data showed that foreclosure rates in Oakland County reached a total of 14,000 in 2008.
Meanwhile, Oakland County Sheriff's Office data showed that foreclosure houses in the area reached 9,625 last year and 4,419 this year.
Majority of homes in Oakland are mortgage foreclosed, which means homeowners failed to pay their monthly mortgages and banks take over ownership of properties.
