Gloucester City has somewhere near 1000 plus rental properties. Some of which are owned by out-of-town landlords who don\’t maintain them. The problem is not unique to Gloucester City.
In today\’s Philadelphia Inquirer (January 13) Staff Writer Nancy Petersen writes about a unique program being tried in Pottstown PA and in nearby Collingswood NJ to cut down on rental properties in those communities changing them into single family owned homes.
Buyers of houses in a district that covers about a third of Pottstown immediately qualify for $5,000. If the house is a single-family home that has been carved up into apartments, the borough will lend up to $15,000 to remove one apartment, an additional $10,000 to remove the second, and $5,000 for any additional unit.
\”We are trying to entice people to come to Pottstown to buy residences and live in them,\” economic-development director Terri Lampe said. \”There is no criteria for income eligibility or anything like that.\”
In Collingswood, next door to Camden, the program \”took off,\” said John Kane, director of community development. \”About 150 homes have been converted back to single-family homes, and the most blighted properties have all gone. Basically, property values have tripled.\”
News tip submitted by Theresa Ritchie…..send your NEWS tip to [email protected]
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