[Peace-discuss] (no subject)

[LAURIE SOLOMON]

Something akin to this sort of thing took place in the 1970's and 1980s in
many urban communities long before the current crises and bailouts; it was
called "urban homesteading" where homeless and poor people who could not
afford to buy houses or condominiums would take over vacant buildings  that
were abandoned by slum lords or owned by the city.  In many cases they would
put "sweat equity" into the properties by fixing them up using their own
sweat labor, which they then used as the basis for arguing that they should
be given ownership of the buildings as places in which to live in lieu of
monetary down payments or  mortgages.  Many cities were persuaded to allow
this with respect to properties that the city owned but were vacant and
disrepair, turning over deeds to the properties under specific conditions
and requirements such as that the person getting the deed would fix-up and
maintain the property, would reside at the property for a given length of
time before being able to sell it or rent it to someone else.  The cities
figured that such an arrangement would furnish housing for the poor or
homeless at reasonable rates and would result in many buildings that were
not being occupied but were falling into disrepair to be fixed up and
maintained.  With respect to properties that were privately owned but were
abandoned, condemned , or badly in the rears of property tax payments, the
cities and the courts tended to hold that the original owners had forfeited
any rights to the property and said property could be turned over to those
who homesteaded those properties and invested sweat equity in making them
habitable places in which they could live.  Additional arrangements were
made with respect to property taxes on properties that had been homesteaded
so that they would be affordable to those who homesteaded the properties.

 

Among the cities that had such programs were New York City and Wilmington,
Delaware.  For a time, it worked out so well for both the cities and for the
poor that some of the cities expanded the program to commercial homesteading
in which people could acquire commercial properties for starting businesses
in the same manner as they did for residential properties and could invest
their sweat equity into the property in lieu of monetary expeditures.

 

From: peace-discuss-bounces at lists.chambana.net
[mailto:peace-discuss-bounces at lists.chambana.net] On Behalf Of
pengdust at aol.com
Sent: Friday, November 28, 2008 10:34 PM
To: print at ucimc.org; peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net; cigmb-a at iww.org;
announce at lists.communitycourtwatch.org; imc at ucimc.org
Subject: [Peace-discuss] (no subject)

 

So, something good!! Too bad it isn't happening here yet! Check out the
links.

[Spitting into the wind]
davep


Miami: Take Back the Land Facilitates Housing Takeovers


Wednesday, November 26 2008 @ 11:36 AM CST
Contributed by: anarkid
<http://news.infoshop.org/users.php?mode=profile&uid=7805> 

 <http://news.infoshop.org/index.php?topic=69>
<http://news.infoshop.org/index.php?topic=69> Housing
<http://news.infoshop.org/index.php?topic=69> As the government continues to
bailout the mega corporations responsible for this economic crisis- by
taking our tax money, without our permission, and giving it to the wealthy-
some organizations and individuals are moving their own bailout. 

Since October 2007, Take Back the Land has been identifying vacant
government owned and foreclosed homes and liberating them by moving homeless
people into people-less homes- without permission from the government or the
banks. This is the real bailout. 



So, as this country celebrates the Pilgrims- who took over land without
permission from the owner- we must think about using land to benefit people,
not just corporations. We assert that our right to housing supercedes the
corporate right to profit. 

Below are three stories about the Take Back the Housing campaign by Take
Back the Land, including a news video from Tuesday, November 25. You can get
more information at www.takebacktheland.org . 

http://www.local10.com/video/18149053/index.html 

http://www.miaminewtimes.com/2008-11-20/news/squatters/ 

http://www.motherjones.com/news/outfront/2008/05/foreclosure-nation-squatter
s-or-pioneers.html 

 

  _____  

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