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The vacancy context in St. Louis is complex, and vacancy is spatially concentrated. Resources for better understanding the St. Louis real estate market, demographics, and other factors relevant to the vacancy context include:
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In St. Louis, as in other parts of the United States more generally, property can become vacant for a wide variety of reasons. Some examples include:
There is no single, agreed upon meaning for the term “vacant property.” In this Guide, the term generally refers to any real property that is unoccupied. It includes both lots with structures on them and those without, and it includes both privately owned and publicly owned property. This Guide generally does not use the term “abandoned property” or “nuisance,” except where necessary to describe certain legal tools. Some of the tools described in this Guide rely on specific definitions, and those definitions are noted where applicable.
The fact that a property is vacant does not necessarily mean that the property is violating any law or otherwise presenting a problem for the neighborhood in which it is located. However, without constant maintenance and security measures, a vacant property typically will deteriorate and pose threats to public safety and neighborhood quality of life.
- Lack of value: The property has liens that exceed its market value, making the value of the property functionally negative, providing little incentive for the owner to invest in or sell the property.
- Bankruptcy: The owner abandoned the property based on an incorrect belief that they “gave it up” as part of a bankruptcy proceeding.
- Death or divorce of owner: The death or divorce of the owner can create uncertainty as to ownership. For example, the owner might have died and a probate case opened, but the proceedings are drawn out due to an inability to locate heirs, the presence of heirs who are minors, or unresolved creditor issues. Or, the owner might have died with no probate case being opened or may be involved in unresolved divorce proceedings, leaving the property in uncertain ownership status until certain legal procedures are followed to clarify ownership.
- Heirs’ property: Lack of estate planning by the owner may lead to a fracturing of the title that then makes control and ownership of the property murky, complicating any sale or rehabilitation efforts.
- Speculation: The owner (who typically does not live in or near the property) obtained the property at a low cost, believing it to be a strategic “investment” but does little to improve the property and has little incentive to care about surrounding properties or residents.
- Owner who avoids liability: The owner is a LLC or other business entity that has no assets except for the vacant property, allowing it to neglect the property with impunity because there are no available assets to pay fines, fees, or judgment costs.
- Lack of resources or realistic plan: The owner has a desire to keep the property but does not have the resources or a realistic plan. For example, the owner has owned the property for many years with a dream of rehabilitating it, perhaps due to an emotional connection with the property or the neighborhood, but lacks financial resources or the requisite skill to carry out the dream. Or, the owner formerly lived in the property for many years, had to move out due to an inability to afford property maintenance, and holds on to ownership with the hope of someday having the resources to move back in.
- Sprawl and weak markets: The property is located in an area with weak market demand in a region characterized by sprawl (i.e., potential buyers have many other options) and slow regional growth. This can lead to falling occupancy rates and increased vacancy (especially in older neighborhoods).
- Incomplete foreclosure: The owner abandoned the property based on a belief that they no longer own the property because they received a foreclosure notice, but the lender never completed the foreclosure proceedings. This is more likely to happen in markets where the property has a very low value and the legal cost of foreclosure outweighs any possible gain from a foreclosure.
- Bank ownership (“REO”): The owner is a lender that obtained the property through foreclosure and keeps the property boarded and minimally maintained while making no real effort to sell the property.
There is no single, agreed upon meaning for the term “vacant property.” In this Guide, the term generally refers to any real property that is unoccupied. It includes both lots with structures on them and those without, and it includes both privately owned and publicly owned property. This Guide generally does not use the term “abandoned property” or “nuisance,” except where necessary to describe certain legal tools. Some of the tools described in this Guide rely on specific definitions, and those definitions are noted where applicable.
The fact that a property is vacant does not necessarily mean that the property is violating any law or otherwise presenting a problem for the neighborhood in which it is located. However, without constant maintenance and security measures, a vacant property typically will deteriorate and pose threats to public safety and neighborhood quality of life.
Sources
Links in the body of this Guide serve both as source references and as an aid to the reader. Additional sources consulted for this section not already included in the body of this section are:
- Steven E. Barlow, Daniel M. Schaffzin, & Brittany J. Williams, Ten Years of Fighting Blighted Property in Memphis: How Innovative Litigation Inspired Systems Change and a Local Culture of Collaboration to Resolve Vacant and Abandoned Properties
- Kermit Lind, Vacant Property Research Network, Data-Driven Systems: Model Practices & Policies for Strategic Code Enforcement
- Hank Webber and Todd Swanstrom, Center for Social Development: George Warren Brown School of Social Work, Rebound Neighborhoods in Older Industrial Cities: The Story of St. Louis
