Groups Want Youngstown Council to Vote 'no' on Regulating Predatory Land Contracts - WKBN


One story we followed extensively in 2018 was the effort to stop what was being described as "predatory land contracts" in the city of Youngstown.

In the contracts, out-of-town companies would buy abandoned homes and resell them for much more than they're worth.

On Wednesday, Youngstown City Council will vote to regulate the contracts, but two groups say the law doesn't go far enough and wants council to vote no.

One house on Youngstown's E. Lucius Avenue was -- until it was torn down -- used by the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation (YNDC) to show how Vision Property Management of South Carolina would lure people into what YNDC officials call predatory land contracts.

At one point, there was a sign offering the house for $12,000.

But selling a house like that one, and allowing someone to live in it, would change under the proposed new law in Youngstown.

"If someone wants to enter into a land contract they have to actually get a home inspection on that property that shows it's in compliance with city code, that it's habitable before they can put somebody into the house," said Jack Daugherty, YNDC Neighborhood Stabilization director. To read the full story from WKBN, click here.