City of Louisville looking to buy vacant, abandoned properties to be renovated

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — The city of Louisville is looking for houses to buy, specifically, 25-30 vacant, abandoned, and foreclosed houses.

Metro Council is putting $750,000 toward the effort. The city is looking for houses that no one wants with the hope they can sell them to people willing to rehab them.

“It took my wife three years to get the last squatters out of there,” said Mark Daugherty, who lives right across the street from a house abandoned 12 years ago.

The city occasionally mows the lawn and recently, boarded up all the windows.

“I would like to see someone come down and either gut it and rebuild it like another house there or just tear it down and start over,” Daugherty said.

The boarded up and abandoned house fits the criteria of the kind of house the city is looking to buy and turn over to the Landbank Authority effort.

“But our idea would be that the Landbank would acquire them and get them into the hands of a responsible owner that would turn it around and rehab it for a homeowner,” said Laura Grabowski of the Office of Housing and Community Development.

The city recently started buying vacant and abandoned properties near Churchill Downs. So far, the Office of Housing and Community Development have bought 15 houses, however, they are restricted to certain neighborhoods and have asked Metro Council approval to expand their search.

“We are asking the Council to approve a wider radius to try and make a bigger impact there," Grabowski.

Every Friday at 1 p.m. the Jefferson County Commissioners auction vacant, abandoned and foreclosed house. There are close to 30 properties listed for the next sale. The city bids for houses just like any other bidder, with one exception.

“The city does have, when we have liens on properties, that does help us in a financial position to purchase,” said Grabowski.

Daugherty told WDRB’s Richard Essex the sooner someone takes over the house across the street the better.

“We have had some serious squatters that we just got rid of two years ago, and they had all kinds of riffraff going on in the house and in the garage also,” said Daugherty.

Landbank homes are sold for as little as $1, but the owner must make repairs quickly.