Some time ago in this space I wrote about the prospects for revitalization from the creation of the Cuyahoga County Land Reutilization Corporation, better known as the County Landbank. Since then the Landbank has gotten up and running, or walking perhaps, but has made little progress toward its goal of returning significant amounts of abandoned and vacant property to productive use. 

As stated on its website, the Landbank acquired its first two properties, not the estimated six “test cases” that had been reported, on September 3, 2009. Both properties are vacant land abutting the Big Creek Trail in Brooklyn and are slated to be added to the Trail. The Landbank should become more active in acquiring abandoned properties toward year’s end as it expects to receive its first installment of bond and loan money in November.

The Landbank is also considering a new method for acquiring properties that would proactively assist homeowners prior to the initiation of foreclosure proceedings. A proposed “better bank” would buy mortgages from lenders at a discounted rate and then pass the savings along to the homeowner in the form of a reduced mortgage payment. This new mortgage would then be sold to a lender to recoup the Landbank’s initial expense. The proposal seems like a winning situation for everyone except the original lender who would take a significant hit against its expected return on the mortgage. However, the discounted rate offered by the Landbank on properties that are seriously deteriorating and at risk for foreclosure may be its best outcome as well. 

While some have questioned the legality of this “better bank” under the enacting provisions of Senate Bill 353, the idea is in fitting with the Landbank’s general purpose to “[f]acilitat[e] the reclamation, rehabilitation, and reutilization of vacant, abandoned, tax-foreclosed, or other real property within the county for whose benefit the corporation is being organized.” Further, S.B. 353 specifically stated that the Landbank’s purposes were not limited to those enumerated items. 

Even if the “better bank” was outside the original scope intended for the Landbank, it shouldn’t be difficult in the current political and economic climate to drum up support for a minor change in the law that would allow the Landbank to work to keep people in their homes. It may prove a useful tool in helping the Landbank reach its lofty goals and aiding lenders and homeowners alike in navigating through the economic downswing.