COLUMBUS, Ohio -- If you want to see an example of a blighted property, drive or walk on Oakley just north of Broad Street.
At one point there are four vacant homes in a row standing in the neighborhood and at least 20 within two blocks. The city and the state have plans for this issue that NBC 4 has covered extensively over the past six months.
Wednesday at 5 p.m., Columbus City Council began discussing legislation which would require owners of vacant homes to register with the city so the city could track them down if the house was not up to code.
The biggest problem for the city is tracking down who really owns vacant properties.
Often, a home belongs to out of state speculators who have purchased the properties for pennies on the dollars and are hoping the value goes up.
It would also require the property owner to carry up to $300,000 in insurance on the property which is about 100 times more than its value.
Meanwhile, the state is developing legislation which would allow counties to take control of properties faster than the current process.
Currently those same speculators buy properties in a sheriff’s auction which could take months if not years to complete.
During that time the properties continue to rot and the value of the neighborhood goes down.
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