Monthly Archives: September 2020

Their rehab of a house next-door restored their property value Michael and Alissa Bolz of Lansing, Ill. used to live next door to a run-down, vacant property that was formerly owned by Michael’s grandfather. That property, vacant for two years, was eroding the value of their current home at the time—a home that was built by Michael’s grandfather in the late 1950s. So the Bolzes decided to do something about it.  In 2016, they decided they would try to purchase that home, fix it up and live in it. They submitted a bid for the house through the Cook County [...]

The Land Bank made homeownership near Lopez’s childhood neighborhood affordable Jose Luis Lopez wanted to live in the Hermosa neighborhood, where he was raised.  But the home prices are high, and that made it hard for him to get a bank loan. “Because I am self- employed, it’s complicated to get lending at a high price point,” said Lopez, who has his own home inspection business. Lopez learned about the Cook County Land Bank Authority’s Homebuyer Direct Program, which sells vacant homes to homebuyers at below-market rates, as long as they rehab the property and then live in the home. [...]

“It’s a beautiful day to buy flowers, balloons and more.” That’s the greeting you’ll likely hear for the long run when Starnella Johnson, owner of Ambassador Floral, or one of her staff members answers your call. The future of the floral shop’s home, located at 11035 -47 S. Halsted St. in Chicago’s Roseland neighborhood, had become uncertain in 2018, as it had in times past. But all that changed when Elisha Sanders, acquisition specialist at the Cook County Land Bank Authority, approached Johnson with an offer she never imagined possible: a chance to become owner of the building that she [...]