Real estate speculators should respect their neighbors!

We've all seen them: the hopeless rows of boarded up houses, destined never to be anybody's home. We also know how those empty houses pull down values all over the neighborhood. Yet corporate real estate speculators seem to be a law unto themselves--snapping up someone's bitter disappointment for a few hundred quick bucks, then flipping it for thousands. Frequently, the blighted property is sold a few times over before the roof is fixed and any taxes are paid. Meanwhile, termites, rot, and broken windows make the whole neighborhood that much less safe and desirable. 
A recent study of property sales in Ohio's Cuyahoga County shows that 31% of derelict houses bought up by big-time investors remained vacant--and a blight on the neighborhood, compared to only 15% of empty houses bought by individuals or small-scale investors. Clearly, people who buy a house to live in it or who need the rental income are much more likely to repair a house, make it livable and an asset to the neighborhood. 
The Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, which conducted the study has two good recommendations: Change the property transfer laws so that taxes and liens MUST be paid before the house can be sold. And start up locally managed land banks which can accept properties that the owners can no longer pay on. These land banks would pay the property taxes and find new, residential owners who could give those empty houses a second chance. Tell Ohio lawmakers that you support the creation of land banks and reformed property transfer laws as recommended by the Cleveland Fed!