Cook County Land Bank Will Reduce Vacant Chicago Foreclosed Homes

The Cook County Board of Commissioners has given approval to create the Cook County Land Bank Authority, which will allow the government to renovate and revitalize vacant properties in Cook County.

The land bank authority will be the largest in the entire country, and will be led by a 13-person panel of community leaders, experts and architects who will take control of and ‘flip’ vacant and dilapidated properties.

According to the Urban Land Institute, there are more than 200,000 vacant units and 85,014 pending foreclosure cases in Cook County. A majority of these homes are located in the southern suburbs and many are already being purchased and renovated by local investors. MACK, Chicago’s largest redeveloper in the single-family investment class, predicts that they will convert and sell more than 500 units in 2013.

Illinois isn’t the first state to use a Land Bank Authority as a way to combat the problem of vacant foreclosed homes. Previous initiatives have been launched in Kansas, Missouri and Michigan, but have come under fire from residents who claim they waste too many tax dollars.

The Cook County land bank will be funded by outside groups and aims to become financially self-sufficient via profit from property sales within the next few years. It will be interesting to see where the supply of foreclosed homes for sale or sitting vacant  stands at the end of 2013 now that the ‘fast track’ program and land bank are in effect.

About The Author

Read All Stories By Mitch Levinson

Mitch Levinson is the author of “Internet Marketing: The Key to Increased New Home Sales” published by BuilderBooks. He is an Internet marketing expert with expertise in search engine optimization, website development, email marketing, social media and CRM consulting services. He is known for creating effective programs that can be tracked through analytics to prove effectiveness and ROI. Mitch is founder and president of MLC New Home Marketing and MLC FlatFee Realty, as well as managing partner of mRELEVANCE, LLC, a Marketing, Communication, Interactive agency with offices in Chicago and Atlanta. He currently leads the Chicago team. A Multi-Million Dollar Sales Producer who earned an MBA in Computer Information Systems and eCommerce, he brings a unique perspective and experience to the field of real estate communications. Mitch combines the two interests in order to help home builders and developers gain a competitive advantage through the Internet and technology. When he isn’t behind a computer, he enjoys participating in sports and coaching his kids’ teams. Mitch resides in Arlington Heights, Ill., a northwest suburb of Chicago, with his family, which includes two rambunctious labs. Visit my Google+ profile.