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‘Zombie’ Wars: Ohio Law Aims to Reduce Blighted Properties
By: Associated Press
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COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – A new Ohio law is being viewed as a national model for eliminating zombies. Zombie properties, that is.
The measure taking effect Wednesday speeds up the process for foreclosing on vacant and abandoned properties – homes and other structures given their nickname for being left to languish like the living dead.
Legislation signed by Republican Gov. John Kasich in June was three years in the making. It establishes a fast-track system that trims Ohio’s foreclosure process from two years or more to as little as six months.
Backers say the law protects property-owner rights by requiring at least three of 11 listed factors to be present before foreclosure can begin. Factors include disconnected utilities, boarded-up or broken windows, unlocked doors, accumulated trash, vandalism and a lack of furnishings.