Vacancy of property?

     How can a home sit abandoned for over thirty years? This is a good question. What makes a home owner keep up with the taxes of their property, yet leave it to rot, to become an eyesore and breeding ground for crime? 

     There is no intelligent answer to these questions because nothing about the situation is intelligent. It is unfair to neighbors to have to put up with this kind of negligence from scumlords and lazy hacks.            

This is our second purchase in the city which happens to be right across the street from our current restoration! This home sat unusable for over thirty years in the hands of someone who had no intentions to ever make use of the property. It may not look like much now, but once we are done, this modest queene Anne will shine like the diamond she is. 

          I can understand and sympathize with an individual needing a few years to complete a restoration, especially to the extent of mine, however if no work is being done at all...excuses begin to wear thin. How can we solve this issue? The answer is very simple, a vacancy tax. 

     Unlike most taxes that have a negative effect on residents of lockport, this tax only benefits them. Give home owners and land lords a certain amount of time to remedy derelict properties, maybe two or three years max. Once the time is up, an extension could be requested assuming work has been done within a timely manner or the vacancy tax will begin. 

     This tax would not be applied to  bully a citizen, this tax will be an incentive to get these homes back on the market or in the hands of individuals who actually plan to use them. Further stabilizing the neighborhood with proud home ownership.

     If the owners are not able to pay the additional vacancy tax this allows the property to fall back into the hands of the city very quickly, this allowing a new owner to rehab and put a new house on the tax books.   

      It's either this or allow individuals to pay low taxes on their derelict home and drag everyone's property values down with them. It's not fair to neighbors and it's not fair to the city of Lockport!

     Please Stop using our homes and city as a toilet.  We, the citizens can make a difference.