Vacant Properties
Vacant Properties In the wake of the 2008 housing crisis, an alarming number of once occupied homes stood vacant due to foreclosure. In 2012, Woodstock and our partners took action to hold mortgage servicers accountable…
Shining a light on vacant properties
Last year, our advocacy was aided by an outstanding series of articles in Crain’s Chicago Business that looked at the issue from a variety of perspectives. In their five-part interactive series, three Crain’s reporters documented…
Coming together to address vacant properties: Leaders share successes at RHP conference
With more than 360,000 foreclosures filed in the Chicago region in the past five years, it is clear that the scale of the problem is too large for any one entity to solve on its…
A city ordinance is failing to keep owners of vacant properties in check (Chicago Reporter)
“It’s hard to develop a solution if you can’t identify the problem,” says McDowell, a senior organizer with the nonprofit Southwest Organizing Project. The problem is that there is a glut of vacant buildings–somewhere between…
Cook County Commissioner Lays Out Plan For Vacant Properties (Progress Illinois)
By Matthew Blake June 21, 2012 Five years after the housing bubble disastrously burst, federal and local government has tried, with limited success, to address each new wave of the foreclosure crisis. In Chicago…
A New Attempt To Deal With Foreclosed, Vacant Properties (Progress Illinois)
By Matthew Blake February 7, 2012 Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn recently introduced a new pilot program to rehabilitate vacant, foreclosed upon properties in Cook County and give assistance to homeowners. The multi-pronged Illinois…
Vacant properties blog series will examine solutions to growing regional, national housing challenge
Cook’s ordinance is very similar to an ordinance the Chicago City Council adopted in November 2011. That ordinance is now the target of a lawsuit, filed by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA),…
Federal Housing Finance Agency seeks to block maintenance requirements for Chicago vacant properties stuck in foreclosure process
“With the foreclosure process taking longer to complete, it is critical to hold mortgagees accountable for vacant properties stuck in the foreclosure process,” said Tom Feltner, vice president of Woodstock Institute. “Ensuring that these…
Testimony of Tom Feltner before the Cook County Board of Commissioners in favor of maintenance requirements for vacant properties in foreclosure
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On His Way Out, Daley Tackles Pollution, Vacant Properties (Progress Illinois)
By Micah Maidenberg March 16, 2011 With the General Assembly’s new session heating up, many of our recent posts have focused on proposals now under discussion in Springfield — and we’ll have much more in…
Region-wide foreclosure prevention initiative launches web resource, targets vacant properties in South and West Cook County
The site brings together key resources, such as success stories of local efforts to limit the impact of foreclosures on the region, research and data tracking foreclosures and their effects on the six-county region, events…
EveryBlock Chicago and Woodstock Institute partner to deliver interactive block- level maps of foreclosures and lender-owned, vacant properties
These maps offer neighbors, local non-profits, and policymakers the ability to get an up-to-date picture of how foreclosures are affecting their communities. EveryBlock offers an unprecedented granularity and depth of local news in Chicago and…
Lender Owned Largely Vacant Properties Disproportionately Impact Communities of Color
By Geoff Smith and Sarah Duda Woodstock Institute previously reported that the number of foreclosed properties reverting to bank ownership, or becoming Real Estate Owned (REO), in the Chicago region increased dramatically between 2005…
Act now: Oppose bill that will declare occupied properties vacant & cause homelessness
What can you do to help? Housing Action recommends that you get in touch with Illinois Senate leadership and ask them to not allow the bill to move forward. Take action now, since the…
New data show that vacant, foreclosed properties are a rising concern for Chicago region communities
“If I try to sell this house,” Froylan Sr. says. “They won’t even give me a stick of gum for it.” The Nuñezes’ story is replicating itself on blocks throughout the region. New data from…
Woodstock calls for limited and temporary expansion of CRA mission to reduce impact of foreclosure crisis, encourage donation of vacant, lender-owned properties
The letter pointed to the growing number of vacant and foreclosed properties that have been shown to destabilize communities by lowering property values, straining municipal resources, and increasing violent crime. Investment in projects designed to…
Roadblock to Recovery: Examining the disparate impact of vacant lender-owned properties in Chicago
Roadblock to Recovery: Examining the Disparate Impact of Vacant Lender-Owned Properties in Chicago Geoff Smith and Sarah Duda This report analyzed Chicago region foreclosure auction and property transfer data and found that vacant, lender-owned properties…
Wall Street Journal: Too Many Vacant Lots, Not Enough Housing: The U.S. Real-Estate Puzzle
Our Director of Research Amber Hendley lent her expertise on blockbusting and contract selling for this piece. Contract buying was often the only option for Black families looking to buy a home. These had much…
Vacant and Abandoned (South Side Weekly)
A woman who lives nearby says that people still live there (“squatters’ rights”). After the housing crisis, says the woman (she declined to give her name), “people had no place to go so they moved…
New York Fights Back Against ‘Zombie’ Properties (Realtor Magazine)
He wants to double the number of nonprofit land banks that can buy abandoned and foreclosed homes and rehab or demolish them, HousingWire reports. New York isn’t alone in being haunted by the “zombie property”…