Kromer seems to be in a position to address the abandoned property situation in Philadelphia. As an expert in the field, he is certainly more qualified than the recently departed and the current acting Sheriff.
Philadelphia’s vast tracts of vacant land and abandoned buildings – about 40,000 properties by one count – are costing the city, and taxpayers, a fortune. A new study (pdf) by Econsult and two partners found that the blighted properties were depressing the city’s property values by billions of dollars, while directly costing city agencies $20 million a year. We’ll talk to Econsult’s RICHARD VOITH, lead author of the report done on behalf of the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority and the Philadelphia Association of Community Development Corps. We’ll also talk to JOHN KROMER of the University of Pennsylvania’s Fels Institute of Government, who recently prepared a report (pdf) updating the status of vacant properties in Eastern North Philly that he first inventoried as the city’s Office of Housing and Community Development in 1998. Those properties redeveloped by the Asociación de Puertorriqueños en Marcha represent a rare success story.
Is this waiver a good idea or will it increase blighted properties?
The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) announced Friday that it is extending the suspension of its ‘anti-flipping rule’ through the remainder of 2011.
FHA Commissioner David Stevens says the temporary waiver will accelerate the resale of foreclosed homes in neighborhoods that are overrun with abandoned properties and blight. The move is intended to help stabilize home values and improve conditions in communities experiencing high foreclosure activity.
FHA regulations typically prohibit insuring a mortgage on a home owned by the seller for less than 90 days, but in February of last year, FHA temporarily waived this regulation through January 31, 2011, noting that in today’s foreclosure-ravaged marketplace, the agency’s research has shown that acquiring, rehabilitating, and reselling distressed properties often takes less than 90 days.
With the sunset date for that first extension just days away, FHA posted a notice on Friday extending the waiver through December 31, 2011. This action will permit buyers to continue to use FHA-insured financing to purchase HUD-owned properties, bank-owned properties, or properties resold through private sales.
“As I noted when we first announced this policy change early last year, because of the tightened credit market, FHA-insured mortgage financing is often the only means of financing available to potential homebuyers,” Stevens said. “Today I can report that this policy change has been effective.”
Stevens says since the original waiver went into effect, FHA has insured more than 21,000 mortgages worth over $3.6 billion on properties resold within 90 days.
FHA said it the notice that prohibiting the use of FHA mortgage insurance for a subsequent resale within 90 days would adversely impact the willingness of sellers to consider offers from potential FHA buyers, because the seller must also factor in holding costs and the risk of vandalism associated with allowing a property to sit vacant over a 90-day period of time.
“Because of past restrictions, FHA borrowers have often been shut out from buying affordable properties,” Stevens added. “This action enables our borrowers, especially first-time buyers, to take advantage of this opportunity and buy a home that has recently been rehabilitated. It will also help to move more foreclosed properties off the market and reduce the number of vacant homes in neighborhoods throughout this country.”
The waiver contains strict conditions and guidelines to protect FHA borrowers against predatory practices of “flipping” where properties are quickly resold at inflated prices. The agency’s anti-flipping waiver is limited to those sales meeting the following criteria:
Not really abandoned. But this decrepit ship, once the majesty of the seas, has been rotting on our waterfront for years. Thank goodness for Gerry Lenfest and his efforst ro preserve it rather than let it be sold for scrap. Read the story below.
From Plan Philly:
February 1, 2011
By Steven Ujifusa
This afternoon, at a reception at the South Philadelphia IKEA cafe, the ocean liner SS United States became the property of the SS United States Conservancy. According to the terms of the $5.8 million grant from philanthropist H.F. “Gerry” Lenfest, the nonprofit group now has 20 months to raise the funds needed to redevelop the ship as a stationary attraction, most likely either in New York or Philadelphia.
Read complete story: A big step for the Big U | PlanPhilly: Planning Philadelphia’s Future.
The Bright Side of Blight
By DIANA LIND
Published: January 24, 2011
Philadelphia
EVEN in Philadelphia, with its 40,000 vacant properties and a quarter of its population living below the poverty line, the Kensington neighborhood still shocks. On a frigid afternoon, a prostitute lingers in the shadow of the elevated train tracks, waiting restlessly for customers. Husks of long-closed factories stand amid thigh-high winter wheat. Streams of garbage flow down the streets, as if both the people and the city government had agreed to forsake the effort of propriety.
This is one of the primary reasons Philadelphia has to contend with 40,000 vacant properties: the RDA and PHA are often the source of the problem. Until a comprehensive plan is put into place, these agencies, as well as private owners and their missing heirs will continue to contribute to the blight that pervades Philadelphia’s neighborhoods.
Those of you who have followed the Universal Companies’ activities will not be surprised that Kenny Gamble has secured a large grant to continue the the renewal of Point Breeze and Grays Ferry.
Kenny Gamble’s redevelopment plan gets a U.S. grant | Philadelphia Inquirer | 01/25/2011.
Show your support and help the community preserve a beautiful historic community building! Public hearing Thursday, January 20.
This is more of the shameful legacy of the PHA. Not only did the PHA let it sit vacant for years, when it is finally developed, it destroys a much-loved garden tended by local schoolchildren.
One of the major reasons there are so many abandoned properties in Philadelphia.
This is a great story of neighborhood-based turnaround that includes a great deal of vacant property.
Desolate to Dynamic | PlanPhilly: Planning Philadelphia’s Future.
Abandoned Philadelphia 