By KC Petraitis
We’ve all heard the horror stories. You know, the one about the couple who purchased their dream home only to find it a complete money pit? If you’re like most first-time home-buyers, your house-hunting decision may come down to two options – the beautifully built modern or renovated home that is way outside your price range, or the moderately priced fixer-upper that will take a lot of additional money and sweat equity to make it your dream home. Read more ›

The Cuyahoga Land Bank has been involved in nearly a dozen collaborations with social service organizations and non-profits in the region that offer affordable housing, community stabilization, and skilled training opportunities. Our mission is to reduce blight, increase property values,… Read more ›

A second home was sold to a Northeast Ohio veteran through project Mission Complete in December. This is the second local project in South Euclid that partnered with the Purple Heart Homes, City of South Euclid and the Cuyahoga Land Bank to rehabilitate… Read more ›

Western Reserve Land Conservancy, in collaboration with the City of Cleveland, recently surveyed every residential, commercial, and industrial parcel in the city.  The survey captured a snapshot of each property by  ranking the current condition and providing occupancy status.  The… Read more ›

This past summer the Cuyahoga Land Bank had the opportunity to host a student intern through the Cleveland Foundation Summer Internship Program.  Staff member Lilah Zautner, Manager of Special Projects and Land Reuse, has shared the success of the program… Read more ›

Jason Knauer recently joined the staff at the Cuyahoga Land Bank as the Land Reuse Program Assistant. Jason’s primary role will include outreach and assistance to residents who would like to purchase vacant lots adjacent to their homes through the… Read more ›

This summer the Cuyahoga Land Bank has had the opportunity to host Joyce Pan Huang who was sponsored by the Cleveland Foundation Summer Internship Program.  Joyce is currently a graduate student of the Masters in Urban Planning, Design and Development… Read more ›

The Cuyahoga Land Bank was recently awarded the Community Impact Award by the Cleveland Restoration Society (CRS) and American Institute of Architects Cleveland (AIA). The award was given to the Cuyahoga Land Bank for their work with Famicos Foundation Historic… Read more ›

The Cuyahoga Land Bank partners with Court Community Service which supervises community service work crews to assist with property maintenance for the Cuyahoga Land Bank properties. Here is an overview of the outcomes from the partnership in 2014: Hours Worked:… Read more ›

The Cuyahoga Land Bank would like to welcome our new Board of Directors for 2015.  This years new members include Armond Budish Cuyahoga County Executive, W. Christopher Murray II Cuyahoga County Treasurer and Dan Brady President of Cuyahoga County Council. … Read more ›

Spring is here and the Cuyahoga Land Bank NIP Greening Program is now in full force!  The program is made possible by the Ohio Housing Finance Agency’s Neighborhood Initiative Program (NIP).  The program works along with the Cuyahoga Land Bank… Read more ›

At the end of February, 2015, the Cuyahoga Land Bank executed a second licensing agreement for its Property Profile System (PPS) to the Mahoning County Land Bank. PPS is a property management software system that performs a variety of functions… Read more ›

This past fall the Cuyahoga Land Bank founded CLB Services, an environmental services company. Kenneth Tyson became the first Executive Director of CLB Services after leaving his position at the Cuyahoga Land Bank. The company currently offers Hazard Evaluation Surveys… Read more ›

The Cuyahoga Land Bank is currently launching a new Greening Program with support from the Ohio Housing Finance Agency’s Neighborhood Improvement Program (NIP).  The program was inspired by the success of a similar nationally recognized program, Reimagining Cleveland.  Through the… Read more ›

The Cuyahoga Land Bank recently partnered with Cleveland State University to host a graduate student from the Marshall College of Law and Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs. Graduate student, Ben Scott joined the Cuyahoga Land Bank this past… Read more ›

The Cuyahoga Land Bank recently partnered with Cleveland State University and will be a host for the Campbell-Steinbacher fellowship in partnership with the Levin College of Urban Affairs and Dr. Dennis Keating. April Waltonen, a CSU senior majoring in Organizational… Read more ›

The Cuyahoga Land Bank has a FAQ page complete with Land Bank FAQ videos from our YouTube channel! Find helpful answers to questions about the Cuyahoga Land Bank’s programs, property pipelines and organizational structure. Explore the FAQ page on our website… Read more ›

Spring is finally upon us and with it comes the start of the grass cutting season! The Cuyahoga Land Bank employs both large and small field servicing contractors to cut the grass as needed on properties in our inventory and… Read more ›

The Cuyahoga Land Bank has a new and improved FAQ page complete with all of the Land Bank FAQ series videos from our YouTube channel! Find helpful answers to questions about the Cuyahoga Land Bank’s programs, property pipelines and organizational… Read more ›

The Cuyahoga Land Bank partners with police and fire departments across Cuyahoga County for training exercises. Last week, fire cadets from the Cuyahoga Community College Fire Training Academy participated in a three day live fire training course at a Cuyahoga… Read more ›

In this FAQ video, Director of IT and Research, Michael Schramm explains that the Cuyahoga Land Bank has an in-house database called the Property Profile System (PPS) that contains current information on all properties in its inventory.  This system is… Read more ›

The Cuyahoga Land Bank has launched the HomeFront Veterans Homeownership Program (‘Homefront’), offering assistance to eligible veterans interested in purchasing either a renovated move-in ready home or a home that will be renovated with the assistance of the Cuyahoga Land… Read more ›

The Cuyahoga Land Bank acquires about 100 properties a month, which it assesses – after vacancy has been confirmed – in order to determine whether the property can be renovated or must be demolished. Assessments consider electrical, plumbing, HVAC, the… Read more ›

In the fifth installment of our FAQ video series, Acquisitions Department staff  explain what the Cuyahoga Land Bank does with the properties in our inventory. The Cuyahoga Land Bank acquires about 100 properties per month, which it assesses – after… Read more ›

Ever wonder why we need County Land Banks? In the second of a series of Cuyahoga Land Bank FAQ videos, Land Bank President and General Counsel Gus Frangos explains the need for County Land Banks.  The foreclosure crisis created large… Read more ›

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1p8-kNq_Dhs Learn the steps that are taken to identify and remediate asbestos by the Cuyahoga Land Bank. The mission of the Cuyahoga Land Bank is to strategically acquire properties, return them to productive use, reduce blight, increase property values, support… Read more ›

The Cuyahoga Land Bank may be a complex organization but we now have an elevator pitch video made just for you!  In the first of a series of FAQ videos, Gus Frangos, Cuyahoga Land Bank President and General Counsel, Tony… Read more ›

Ever wonder what a County Land Bank is?  In the first of a series of 11 FAQ videos that we will feature in our upcoming newsletters, Cuyahoga Land Bank President Gus Frangos explores this very question.

In the first of a series of FAQ videos, we provide an overview of the Cuyahoga Land Bank’s core activities.  In this video, President and General Counsel Gus Frangos discusses the value and importance of a Land Bank to address… Read more ›

The Ohio Housing Finance Agency (OHFA) has received approval from the U.S.  Treasury Department to utilize up to $60 million of a remaining $270 million in Hardest Hit Funds to assist with stabilizing local property values through the demolition of… Read more ›

The Cuyahoga Land Bank is featured on the Neighborhood Stabilization (NSP) Resource Exchange Center website. The NSP Resource Exchange provides helpful information needed by all NSP grantees, subrecipients and developers to purchase, rehabilitate, and resell foreclosed properties. This property was… Read more ›

The Cuyahoga Land Bank generates a detailed renovation specification for all properties listed for sale in our Deed-in-Escrow program.  The renovation specification outlines the scope of work necessary for the property to meet our Housing Quality Standards upon final inspection.… Read more ›

The Cuyahoga Land Bank has been awarded $100,000 in renovation and financial counseling funds for veteran housing thanks to a vote by Cuyahoga County Council to disburse funds from the Cuyahoga Veterans Service Commission 2012 budget! You can read the… Read more ›

The Cuyahoga Land Bank is featured on the Neighborhood Stabilization Resource Exchange site! In 2010, the Cuyahoga Land Bank was selected to administer $41 million in federal Neighborhood Stabilization funds (NSP2) for the Cleveland – Cuyahoga Consortium. The NSP2 grant… Read more ›

The Cuyahoga Land Bank is on Facebook! Like our page to receive updates about Cuyahoga Land Bank news and events as well as featured properties available through our Deed-In-Escrow and Advantage Plus Loan programs!

The Cuyahoga Land Bank partners with  Court Community Service to provide property maintenance services for close to 100  Land Bank properties!