Frequently Asked Questions

County land banks allow communities to recover from the foreclosure crisis. County land banks facilitate the return of vacant, abandoned and tax-foreclosed properties to productive economic use. County land banks take ownership of properties and clear title, assemble parcels for development, and manage properties until redevelopment can begin. This process may take months or, more likely, years.

County land banks acquire property in a number of ways. The expedited tax foreclosure process allows the direct transfer of tax-foreclosed properties to county land banks.

A county land bank is established by a two-part process: the board of county commissioners passes a resolution authorizing the formation of a land bank, then the county treasurer files articles of incorporation with the Ohio Secretary of State. After incorporation, county commissioners approve the corporation’s operating documents. After this approval, the county land bank board of directors operates the county land bank.

County land banks are not part of county government. Instead, county land banks are independent corporations governed by a board of directors comprised of county, municipal and township leaders. The board of directors of a county land bank, per statute, must include at least two county commissioners and the county treasurer (or their equivalents under county charters), a representative of the largest municipality in the county, and a township representative. Up to four additional members can be included on the county land bank board.

The county commissioners can elect to increase the county’s delinquent tax and assessment collection (DTAC) fund to provide county land banks with operating income. The county treasurer may make special advances of late payments of first half taxes and/or newly delinquent taxes with the associated penalties and interest allocated to the land bank.

County land banking helps communities stabilize the property tax base. County land banking greatly reduces flipping of low value properties and the economic and social damage caused by the repeated transfers of the same low value properties. County land banking allows communities to stabilize their housing base by eliminating blight and removing uninhabitable or functionally obsolete housing from the marketplace. County land banking allows for the orderly redevelopment of communities. In short, county land banking allows communities to recover from the foreclosure crisis.

Unlike a real estate company, the Portage County Land Bank works to enable rehabilitation of land and property. As such, our public listings consist of as-is properties that are buildable but require development and/or renovation.

Yes, land and property are available to residents and investors through our Side Lot Program, Vacant Land Program, and Open Market Real Estate Purchase Program.

The Portage County Land Bank, formally the Portage County Land Reutilization Corporation, is a 501(c)(3) organization that works to return underutilized land and property to productive use. Working with community partners, we identify sites in need of rehabilitation and/or remediation and help facilitate those processes.