1. Vacant Property Working Group
Property Acquisition, Land Reclamation Tools and the
City of Pittsburgh Property Reserve
January 30
1:00 PM
Staff Contact: Sarah Slater, Program Coordinator or

2. Overview What is the Vacant Property Working Group?
Context: Definitions
Context: Land Use in Pittsburgh
Using the Pittsburgh Property Reserve

3. What is the Vacant Property Working Group?

4. VPWG
The Vacant Property Working Group, a program of the Pittsburgh Community Reinvestment Group (PCRG), is a collaboration of non-profit, community-based organizations, financial institutions and other stakeholders who have an interest in eliminating blight and revitalizing communities.
Mission:
To enable the revitalization of all land in the Greater Pittsburgh Area.
Objective:
to identify economic development policies, programs and resources that are necessary for neighborhood based redevelopment. VPWG works collectively towards the eradication of vacant and nuisance properties within the neighborhoods of the City of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County.

5. VPWG
The VPWG is an open table to anyone in the City or County, and is made up of up of CDCs and CBOs, representatives of elected offices and government agencies, and partner nonprofits.
PCRG founded: 1988
First VPWG meeting: 1996
In 2016, VPWG met ten times and had over fifty different attendees.
240+ properties are currently in the process of having title cleared for sale to community groups.

6. Current & Past Focus Areas:
Land Acquisition
Coordination and Improvement of the Treasurer’s Sale Process and the Land Reserve
Community Land Trusts
Conservatorship
REO Portfolios
Comprehensive Land Recycling & Management
Creating a City of Pittsburgh/Regional Land Bank System
Unified Property Management System
State Policy
Tax Foreclosure
Blight Reduction
Local Policy & Programs
Access to Data and Parcel Information
Lien Portfolios
Affordable Housing
Greening
Planning
Registered Community Organizations
Code Enforcement
Condemnations: Preservation v. Demolition
Housing Court
Quality of Life Ticketing

7. Land Acquisition Methods
Second Class City Treasurer’s Sale
City of Pittsburgh Property Reserve [PPR]
Side Yard Sales Program
Real Estate Owned (REO) properties
PCRG Partnerships with local & national lenders
National Community Stabilization Trust Program
Conservatorship
Sheriff’s Sale
Direct Purchase (from private entity, City, URA, eg)
Purchase of Bank Note
Pittsburgh is the only second class city in Pennsylvania state law.
For more on conservatorship, see the PA Blight Library:
For more on the Sheriff’s Sale, see:
Purchase of a bank note enables a private individual to act as the mortgage servicer.

8. Context: Definitions

9. Definitions What is blight?
Pennsylvania Statutes Title 35 P.S. Health and Safety § Blighted Property Removal
The act authorizing the creation of municipal redevelopment authorities (like the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh) defines blight for Pennsylvania.
There are many indicators of blight: US Postal Service and gas service shutoffs, and unpaid taxes are some of the most commonly used.
Source: pablightlibrary.com Accessed 1/23/17.

10. Definitions Parcel vs. Lot:
Parcel: a quantity of land for taxable purposes; boundaries do not necessarily coincide with lot boundaries
Used by the Department of Finance, City of Pittsburgh, based on the assessment made by the Allegheny County Real Estate Department.1
Lot: a recognized subdivision of a parcel that address restrictions on use
Used by the Department of City Planning.
1: Source: Accessed Jan. 1/23/2017
2: Zoning Code Definition: “land occupied or intended to be occupied by no more than one (1) main structure, or unit group of buildings, and accessory buildings, together with such setbacks and lot area as are required by this Code, and having at least one (1) frontage upon a street.” Source: Accessed Jan. 1/23/2017

11. Definitions Vacant vs. Abandoned:
Vacant: a home which no person currently resides.
Abandoned: the owner has walked away from their interest in the property.
City of Pittsburgh, Definition of Abandonment3
“Provides a location for loitering, vagrancy, unauthorized entry or other criminal activity;
Has one (1) or more broken windows, or two (2) or more windows boarded up for more than thirty (30) days;
Has utilities disconnected or not in use;
Is not maintained in compliance with City Code, including without limitation, Pittsburgh Building and Fire Prevention Codes.
Has taxes in arrears for a period of time exceeding three hundred sixty-five (365) days;
Is only partially completed, is not fit for human occupancy and there are no active building permits on the property that will result in restoration of the premises to a safe and habitable condition.”
3. Source: Accessed 1/23/17.

12. Context: Land Use in Pittsburgh

13. City of Pittsburgh Parcels
Number of Total Parcels, City of Pittsburgh: ~145,000*
Number of Total Residential Parcels, City of Pittsburgh: 112,918*
Vacant Residential Lots: between 25-27,000*
Vacant Residential Parcels: 35,000 (23.3% of all parcels)*
Vacant lots and properties are concentrated in several neighborhoods. **
*OPENPGH, 2011
**Housing Needs Assessment, 2015
City has ~145,000 total parcels.
Source: Housing Needs Assessment, Access 1/23/17

14. City of Pittsburgh Housing
Housing Units:156,165**
Single Family Homes: 84,989**
88% Occupied, 12% Vacant [not receiving mail delivery due to vacancy].*** National average: 10%
48% Owner Occupied. 52% Renter Occupied*
Nearly 50% of Pittsburgh housing stock was built before 1939. *
*Housing Needs Assessment, 2015
**2010 Census
***PCNIS 2009

15. Vacant Parcels By Council District
Note: This data includes all tax delinquent parcels that are more than one full year tax delinquent, are vacant or have a condemned structure on them, or were purchased through the Treasurer’s Sale but are not part of or programmed to be dedicated to the City.
Source: Department of City Planning, March 2014
Gilman
Gross
Rudiak
O’Connor
Harris
Kraus
Kail - Smith
Lavelle
Burgess

16. Tax Delinquency by Neighborhood
Source: Accessed 1/23/17.

17. 1937 Residential Security Map
The Homeowner’s Loan Corporation was a federal government-sponsored program to help homeowners pay their mortgage during the Great Depression by refinancing. This rating was from the 1920s-30s.

18. City of Pittsburgh Market Value Analysis
For more information on the Market Value Analysis, see:
Factors
Housing Units
Sales Prices
Code Violations
Section 8 / HCV
Permits – New Res
Percent Commercial
Mortgage Foreclosures
Vacancy

20. MVA/1937 Residential Security Map

21. ~ 40,545 Parcels are Vacant or Distressed*
Source: Department of City Planning, March 2014
~ 40,545 Parcels are Vacant or Distressed*
Vacant and Distressed is Defined by Vacant, Tax Delinquent, City Owned and/or Condemned

23. Acquisition Tool: Pittsburgh Property Reserve [PPR]

24. PPR Overview
VPWG studied Cleveland model and proposed a cost-effective method of land acquisition of properties by City of Pittsburgh 501c3 community groups.
Pittsburgh Property Reserve established by Council Bill 402 of 1998.
Utilizes Tax Foreclosure process to recycle abandoned properties, which clears taxes owed to:
City of Pittsburgh
Allegheny County
Pittsburgh Public Schools
Note: the main goal is to collect taxes, not to recycle land.
For original bill authorizing Pittsburgh Property Reserve, see:

25. The PPR Is… A tool to recycle land affordably in cases where:
except for the cost of land acquisition, revitalization could occur;
the market is weak;
or property is ‘underwater’ (the liens and taxes owed exceed the value of the property).
Exclusive to non-profit community based organizations.
A virtual reserve with a 300 property maximum at any one time.
A partnership between the City of Pittsburgh and community groups.

26. PPR Advantages
Utilize State-legislated legal process to acquire land affordably which produces full clear (‘clean’) title at the end.
City Departments take onus of doing the legal and financial work.
Properties are available at end of process for approximately $3,000 each.
Note: the City can only recover 3rd party costs.

27. PPR Disadvantages
Significant investment of time is needed; properties are identified 7 months before sale and are not ‘clear’ until at least 12 months post-sale.
Complicated, with many steps.
At several stages of the process, a parcel can become ineligible for sale to the community group.

28. Usage Provisions CDC must:
Have a redevelopment plan in place, including proof of (current or future) ability to finance and complete project
Adhere to designated process and ALL timelines
Remove properties from reserve in designated time (2 or 5 years)
If necessary, submit a formal request for a time extension (properties with clear title)
There is a one year restriction on utilizing Reserve if in default of provisions.

29. PPR Process Outline Property Research and Eligibility Request
Feasibility Application and Selection
Treasurer’s Sale & Redemption Period
Hand Money and Promissory Note
Clearing Title, Settlement Statement, and Closing

30. I. Property Research Property Information Location Owner(s) of record
Street address
Ward
Lot/block number
Owner(s) of record
Vacancy status
Must be vacant
Tax delinquency
At least 1+ years delinquent
Liens or other foreclosure activity
Data Sources
County Real Estate1
Property information
City of Pittsburgh Finance2
City tax delinquency
County Office of Court Records3
Foreclosure activity
Other judgments and claims
USPS Vacant Address Database4
Available for nonprofits
Department of City Planning5
SNAP Data
Open Space Database
Other Data Sources6
Western PA Regional Data Center
Sources of Information:
1: Allegheny County Real Estate Assessment Site:
2: City of Pittsburgh Tax Delinquency: and 3:
4: Sign up here:
5: PGH SNAP:
Web Maps from City Planning:
6: WPRDC:

31. Requirements for Eligibility
Eligible
1+ Years Tax Delinquent
Vacant
More than $1 of taxes owed (vacant lot)
Ineligible
Tax Payment Plan
Sheriff’s Sale/ Foreclosure
Bankruptcy
Late Payment in Full
Already in Acquisition Process
Private Bidder
Side Yard Sale
Current year is not truly delinquent. Delinquency requires the previous year plus one other year – ideally, the year before and so on (as opposed to 15 years in the past) as this shows a recent path towards abandonment, instead of someone forgetting to pay a bill one year awhile ago.
A property is not vacant if there are squatters, due to the Federal Relocation Act requirements. (The City does not use eminent domain; the URA and County will to varying degrees).

32. Other Barriers to Inclusion
Inclusion of city-owned property
Three Taxing Body guidelines
Inclusion of occupied property
Relocation costs
Property reserve and for-profit developers
‘Flipping’ properties is prohibited [Immediate ReSale without improvement] unless community groups splits proceeds with the City of Pittsburgh.
Objections, service, and other obstacles:
City must be able to serve notification to property owners or heirs
Objections can be made at various points in the process
Property may be sold to a neighbor as a sideyard
Judges can remove property from sale
City councilmembers can refuse to pass legislation

33. II. Application and Selection
Submit a Project Feasibility Application
Strategic development plan
Development and financing plan
Commitments not necessary
Group must perform research /due diligence
Seek community/political support
Examples of Partners:
Urban Redevelopment Authority
City of Pittsburgh Finance Department, Real Estate Division
Pittsburgh Community Reinvestment Group
Allegheny County Dept. of Economic Development
Existing Community Organizations
Affordable Housing Developers

34. Treasurer’s Sale & Redemption Period
Properties Approved for Sale
URA Approval
City of Pittsburgh Approval
No redemption or payment plan
Properties advertised in newspaper, law journal
Treasurer’s Sale
Public bids do not result in cleared title
Ninety Day Redemption Period
Opportunity for CDC to request revenue properties

35. IV. Hand Money and Promissory Note
Vacant Lots
Cost :$100 plus 3rd party fees
($200 Deposit +$400 Promissory)
Up to 5 years in Reserve
Structures
Cost: $1000 plus 3rd party fees
($200 Deposit + $800 Promissory)
Up to 2 years in Reserve
3rd party costs:
Legal notification (mailings and public notices)
Title search and clearing costs
Maintenance and inspections

36. V. Clearing Title & Closing
Proposal to Purchase
City Council Approves Sale
Title Clearing
Petition to quiet title
Lienholder period to answer
Satisfaction of Liens
City designated buyback funds
Court Authorizes Clear Title
Deed Generated
Settlement Statement
Property is now eligible for closing

37. Password: Revitalize

39. Question / Answer
Thank You

43. Tax Delinquent Parcels
~9.0% (13,200)* parcels have been tax delinquent for 2+ years
*Accuracy of Data cannot be guaranteed. Data Source: Department of City Real Estate 2014

44. Public Ownership
3,462* parcels are in the City’s name** (excluding parks, greenway, and other managed city facilities)
28,200 parcels within the city are vacant
City Owned
Vacant
*Accuracy of Data cannot be guaranteed. Data Source: Department of City Planning/Allegheny County 2014
** All of which do not have clear title

45. Publicly Owned Vacant Lots

48. The Absentee Landlord Price Point
Sales 1/03-7/04
Below $20,000

49. Sales 1/03-7/04 $20,000-100,000 Median Sales Price 2005: $115,000
2015: $145,000
Source: trulia.com 6/25/2015
Average Sales Price
2015: $175,000 (Pgh)
Source: realtor.com 6/25/2015