Model Practices in Tax Foreclosure and Property Disposition: Indianapolis Case Study

This 2003 case study about the City of Indianapolis and Marion County is the first in a series describing local efforts to return tax delinquent or vacant/abandoned properties to productive use.   Model elements of Indianapolis' disposition system include:

• Determination of delinquency: property is considered delinquent upon three consecutive missed payments.
• Acquisition of property by city and county: Methods used include a county tax sale, which involves an annual sale of interests in properties certified as tax delinquent to private developers, non-profit organizations, or the City; spot eminent domain, which authorizes the City's Department of Metropolitan Development to aquire property located outside of an identified redevelopment area; receiverships, by which a court may appoint a receiver to take posession of a property for rehabilitation purposes; and intergovernmental transfer, by which the County sends property to the Department of Metropolitan Development.
• Transfer of Property to Community Based Organizations, by means of expedited tax sales, authorization by the Department of Metropolitan Development, Marion County Surplus sales, post-sale negotiations, and direct purchases.