Cleveland Housing Non-Profit Files Suit Stalling Sales Of 36 Foreclosed Homes; Seeks Order Directing Lenders To Either Repair Or Demolish Structures

In Cleveland, Ohio, The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports:

• A Cleveland nonprofit group thinks it has found the legal tool needed to stop banks from dumping dilapidated, foreclosed properties back into the real estate market for pennies on the dollar.

• Cleveland Housing Renewal Project Inc., a subsidiary of Neighborhood Progress Inc., sued Deutsche Bank and Wells Fargo Bank in Cleveland Housing Court on Monday to prevent the banks from selling 36 foreclosed homes in Cleveland.

• The complaints accuse the banks of creating a public nuisance for having failed to maintain the homes, all of which are vacant and in poor condition, after taking them at sheriff's sales.(1)

• The lawsuit asks that the banks be ordered to either repair the homes to make them livable or demolish them. Housing Court Judge Raymond Pianka granted the group's request for a temporary restraining order that stops the banks from selling the homes for at least two weeks.

For the story, see Cleveland Housing Renewal Project sues Deutsche, Wells Fargo banks over sale of foreclosed homes (Judge halts sales of foreclosed homes) (if link expires, try here).

(1) According to the story, attorneys for Cleveland Housing Renewal say Deutsche Bank, Wells Fargo and other banks have sold several thousand dilapidated, foreclosed properties here in the last few years, some for as little as $1,000. Most of these sales have been made to out-of-town buyers who have done nothing to improve the properties before selling them again. BetaVacantForeclosure