Baltimore sells $1 houses in effort to combat vacant home crisis
The charred front of a vacant rowhouse is seen on Furrow Street in the Carrollton Ridge neighborhood in West Baltimore. (Jerry Jackson/Baltimore Sun/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
BALTIMORE - Baltimore, Maryland, city officials approved a program that would sell city-owned vacant homes for next to nothing at $1 for some applicable residents.
According to the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), the Fixed Pricing Program was created to combat the more than 13,500 homes in Baltimore that are vacant.
City officials said Tuesday that just over 200 homes are currently in the program.
According to the DHCD, the homes would only be sold to individuals who are willing to invest their money in fixing the dilapidated homes.
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Applicants must provide proof that they have at least $90,000 to complete a renovation, as well as pass through an application vetting process.
Interested parties can apply beginning April 1.
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The applicants will be vetted by the funds they have available for rehabilitation, their criminal history and if they have any open federal or state liens or judgments.
Officials said that the city would prioritize city residents by giving them a 90-day window for priority buying.
Developers would have to pay $3,000 per home, and so would large nonprofits with 51 or more employees.
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Nonprofits with fewer employees could pay $1,000.
Fox News has reached out to Mayor Brandon Scott for comment.
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