FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

After the passage of State enabling legislation, the Huron County Commissioners authorized the incorporation of the Huron County Land Reutilization Program as a nonprofit organization whose mission is to strategically acquire properties, return them to productive use, reduce blight, increase property values, support community goals, and to improve the quality of life for County residents.

Our friends at Cuyahoga County Land Bank explains a land bank in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=36&v=3jocKGiRL_o&feature=emb_logo

The costs of dealing with vacant and abandoned properties fall mainly to local governments, which are often unable to break the cycle of foreclosure to abandonment to blight. They are thwarted by heavy costs, the lack of a timely legal mechanism to acquire properties, liability concerns, and no overarching strategy to address the problems at a regional level. Land banks provide that mechanism 

The main sources of properties obtained by the Huron County Land Bank are judicial tax foreclosures, and occasional donations to the Huron County Land Bank. Once a foreclosed property has been to a Tax Foreclosure Sale “Sheriff Sale” and has two “No Bid, No Sale” it is then forfeited to the State of Ohio and the Huron County Land Bank then has the opportunity to acquire the property.

The Huron County Land Bank has a several sources that fund its mission. At the most basic level, the Huron County Land Bank will receive annually a certain portion of the penalties and interest that accrue on delinquent property taxes. (DTAC)To be entitled to receive this base level funding, the Huron County Treasurer (the Treasurer) must make early advances of these delinquent taxes to the taxing districts from the daily balances to the various cities, schools and special taxing districts in Huron County. To the extent penalties and interest from delinquent taxes are used to fund the Huron County Land Bank, no direct or primary tax dollars are used. While the County is not prohibited from supporting the Huron County Land Bank, it does not do so out of its general funds nor is the County liable for the obligations of the Huron County Land Bank. Legally, the Huron County Land Bank is a separate and distinct entity from the County government.

The Huron County Land Bank is also authorized to receive judicial tax foreclosed properties, most of them having negative equity, along with others having positive equity. Positive equity properties will be stabilized and resold where possible, the proceeds from which will be used to fund the continued mission of the Huron County Land Bank, i.e., demolition, stabilization and rehabilitation of substandard properties.

The Huron County Land Bank is governed by a Board of Directors. The Ohio Revised requires a minimum of five Directors, including the county treasurer, two of the three county commissioners, a representative from the largest municipality, and a township representative. The Board of Directors is authorized to employ an executive director who is be responsible for the daily management and operations of the Huron County Land Bank. Huron County Development Council has been contracted to manage the daily operations of the Huron County Land Bank.

Yes, as a quasi-governmental corporation, the Huron Land Bank, with minor exceptions, is subject to the Ohio Public Records and Ohio Open Meeting Laws.

All of our available properties are listed on our website.  Interested parties need to complete an “Application to Acquire Property” prior to the deadline. Once the deadline has passed the Huron County Land Bank board will meet to go over each application. If multiple applications are submitted a letter will go out to all applicants asking for a best and final bid of the property. All applicants will also be advised of the status of their application after a application has been accepted by the Board.

The Huron County Land Bank will schedule a date for anyone interested to come view the property. Due to the nature of many of these properties you must sign a Waiver before entering the property, have closed toed shoes, and bring a flashlight. No one under the age of 18 will be allowed to enter the properties.  Please complete the property waiver for any/each property you are interested in viewing.  Anyone that will be going in must complete this form.

Once the board approves the Application to Acquire, a purchase agreement is created and executed by the land bank and buyer. If the property is a direct transfer (vacant land) the total purchase price is due after the purchase agreement has been executed. Upon receipt of certified funds, a quit claim deed is provided to the buyer. If the buyer plans to renovate or demolish structures on the property, one half of the purchase price is due at execution of the agreement. The agreement defines the timeline for demolition or renovation. The Land Bank holds the deed in escrow until demolition or renovations are completed. At that time, the balance of the purchase price is due and a quit claim deed is provided to the buyer. If an extension of time is needed to complete the renovation or demolition due to unforeseen circumstances, the buyer must contact the Huron County Land Bank to advise of the need for additional time. The purchase agreement will be amended to reflect the new completion date. Failure to complete renovations or demolitions could result in property being forfeited back to the Land Bank. The Land Bank will not refund money spent by the buyer.   

All applicants to purchase Landbank property must meet the following criteria:

1. Be registered with the State of Ohio (if they are a business);
2. Not own any (or have a history of owning) properties with outstanding code violations;
3. Be up to date on all property taxes;
4. Not have recent foreclosure filings on their record.

Sometimes, these restrictions can be waived if there are good reasons for doing so. We also reserve the right not to approve an application for other reasons not listed here, such as competing applications or if there is a more productive use for the property.

The typical process takes a few months, but it can take much shorter or longer. The timeline of the process varies depending on whether your application is complete. There can be other factors that cause delay as well, including if we are experiencing a large volume of applications.

No. The Landbank is set up to deal with vacant, blighted properties, not properties with occupants. If you are concerned about property code violations on your neighbor’s property, contact your local code enforcement office and if you are concerned about illegal activity contact the police.

The board assesses the condition of the building to determine whether the property should be rehabbed, stabilized or demolished. We also consider other factors, such as whether there is a strong market for rehabs of properties in the immediate area, the number of code violations, whether the property has been condemned and/or declared a public nuisance by the local municipality, and whether we believe we will be able to find a responsible end-user for the property.

 No. The Land Bank is a private not-for-profit community development corporation, incorporated in the State of Ohio.

Our Residential Side Lot program requires that your property and the property you wish to acquire are mostly adjacent, meaning they each share 75 percent of a common boundary. Please call us if you have a question about a property.  Properties not considered buildable lots will only be sold as a side lot to one of the neighbors that share the parcel property line of the available side lot.

Complete Application to Acquire

No. You are not obligated until a purchase agreement has been executed. 

Prices are determined by the Land Bank Board and posted on the land bank website under available properties.

Renovate or demolish.  Your application to acquire has an area to explain your plans with the property and the Land Bank Board will review the plans to make their determination.

No. When properties are forfeited to the State and acquired by the Land Bank, all back state taxes are forgiven. 

Depends on available funding. However the Land Bank Board can vote to demolish, pending available funding, a dilapidated property prior to putting it up for sale.

Submit application to acquire and define timeline for renovations for properties the land bank has for sale within the deadline listed. 

Prices are determined by the Land Bank Board. 

If there are multiple applications to acquire submitted willing to pay the asking price that is determined by the board, a best and final offer will be requested from anyone that submitted an application to acquire and the board will review the timeline, offer price, and plans for the property to make the best informed decision. 

The board does not have to automatically accept the highest best and final offer if they feel a lower offer meets the mission statement of the Huron County Land Bank better.   The board also has the right to refuse all of the offers if they feel all of the offers do not fit the mission statement and can repost the property to accept additional offers.

Yes, the Land Bank Board will do an inspection after the rehab is completed to confirm the applicant is in compliance with their rehab specifications as submitted in the Application to Acquire and the Purchase Agreement.  The Land Bank will schedule the inspection.  Once the board signs off on the rehab, the Quit-Claim Deed will be completed and turned over for final payment to the Land Bank and then to be recorded by you at the Huron County Recorder's Office in Norwalk, Ohio.