Jim and Patricia Gardull have lived in their Camden Street duplex in East Toledo for 45 years.

They had no intention of moving until fire struck their next door neighbor’s home.

That was in December of 2008.

That house still stands unrepaired more than two years later. One side on the second story is still open to the weather and scavengers have ripped out some wiring and metal. Gardull says he’s blocked the doors and nailed shut the windows to keep out vandals. But, the bigger concerns, he says, are if another fire starts his house is just six feet away, and if he decides to downsize, he’ll never sell his property for the $48,000 it was valued at a few years ago, nor for the $23,800 the Lucas County Auditor values it at today.

Jim and Pat Gardull are in the same position as many other Toledoans. They live next to a dilapidated property that increases their risk and decreases their property values.

That situation prompted the Gardulls to attend a recent presentation given to East Toledo Club members and the public by Lucas County Treasurer Wade Kapszukiewicz on the Lucas County Land Bank.

The new land bank, the second one in the state of Ohio, has the power to acquire and sell foreclosed tax delinquent properties without going through the long court process leading to a sheriff’s sale. This process, which can be a long as two years, can be shortened to 90 days and provide buyers with clear titles while eliminating back taxes.

The land bank will be able to purchase neglected homes and sell them to prospective homeowners through land contracts or to licensed contractors who want to renovate and resell them.

David Mann, the land bank’s executive director, told The Press in a later interview that the land bank will also be able to demolish dilapidated homes and sell the vacant lots to an adjacent property owners for $100 and court costs, or to any other interested party for fair market value.

Funding for the program comes through an increase in the interest rate charged delinquent property taxpayers. Kapszukiewicz estimated annual revenue at $1.5 million and told the crowd, “We will be moving in a robust way by the summer.”

The need is great. Kapszukiewicz said there are an estimated 12,000 to 15,000 vacant properties in Lucas County. “This program is not just about that vacant house on the street and the good that is accomplished when that house is knocked down or fixed up. It’s about all the other houses on that street which over the years have seen their values go down because of a blighted house or a foreclosure and before you know it the whole neighborhood’s values have gone down.

“If we do this land bank correctly, we don’t just make ourselves feel good by putting in a side lot, or a community garden, or fixing up a house. What we’re actually doing is increasing the property vales of everyone else in that neighborhood.”

While the land bank holds the promise to make living in the City of Toledo more attractive, it probably will not be able to help the Gardulls. Taxes on the fire-damaged property are current. National City Mortgage, a division of National City Bank of Indiana, and the mortgage holder filed suit to foreclose on the property. The court on July 14, 2009 granted a judgment of $47,5321.71 to National City and ordered the sale of the property on August 10, 2009. National City withdrew the property from sale on October 20, 2009 stating it wanted to “review the matter and disposition of its collateral.”

I called Safeguard Properties, the maintenance division of PNC Bank, the company that took over National City, but a spokesperson said they do not comment on their properties.

The house and property are now appraised at $2,500. The city’s department of inspection on April 29, 2009 placed the house on the demolition list, but there are 409 on the list and no guarantee it will be demolished this year, according to a department spokesperson. Two years after the fire, it still stands, its second story open to the weather and the Gardulls are still looking for help.

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