LOUISVILLE, Ky. — It’s a problem that’s been plaguing Louisville neighborhoods for decades: abandoned homes and vacant properties. 

Abandoned and vacant homes number in the thousands in Louisville and their existence pose numerous risks to those living nearby. 

Burley Hudson is a lifelong resident of Louisville’s west end. He works on homes doing repairs and landscaping, and every day passes by properties that are boarded up or literally falling apart. He says it doesn’t matter how nice your own home may be; if it’s next to a dilapidated one, it affects you in more ways than one. 

“It’s your property values on the decline,” Hudson said. Abandoned homes also attract squatters.

Fires are another concern. Hudson says on this side of town there are many abandoned homes or vacant lots. “There’s wasn’t that many 10 years ago, and it’s just gotten worse, progressively,” The 51-year-old added. 

Louisville Metro Government recently allocated $750,000 to buying and acquiring vacant and abandoned properties. Many have remained unutilized because potential buyers are hesitant to purchase them due to costly liens attached to them.

Mayor Craig Greenberg, D-Louisville, recently addressed this problem. “We’re working right now on a program that would waive these liens for anyone who is going to buy the house and either sell it to an income-eligible family or who is going to rent it to an income-eligible family,” Greenberg told Spectrum News.

Greenberg says the city already owns nearly 500 homes and plots and wants to sell them to families or buyers committed to renovating or rebuilding. “And unfortunately, those are often in lower-income communities where we need to do everything we can to help lift those communities,” Greenberg said. 

Burley Hudson says even if you buy a home for a buck, the costs of renovating increases every day. “$30,000 to $40,000 you’ve got to put in it, easily, just to even make it livable,” Hudson said. “You’re almost better sometimes just to tear them down and start all over again.”