City of Chicago Acts on Vacant & Abandoned Property

We just heard that the City of Chicago has passed an ordinance that redefines the “owner” of vacant properties to include banks and other financial companies. Although mortgage holders and their mortgage servicers have always had a fiduciary duty to protect the value of properties either delinquent or under foreclosure proceedings, it would appear that the City of Chicago is placing Mortgage holder’s and servicers’ feet nearer the fire. This is in response to the impacts from the ongoing foreclosure crisis. Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac say that the ordinance “violates Illinois property rights.” It will be interesting to see how this shakes out and we wonder how many other municipalities will follow suit. We predict that the City of Chicago will hold fast and we hope this keeps ‘pride of ownership’ in the minds of delinquent owners.