Landed

The city of Indianapolis is taking a lesson from ebay.

The city recently started an online land bank for vacant property and abandoned homes. The site includes a list of available properties, as well as photos and an estimate of the home's value.

The land bank is part of a plan to get residents back into Indianapolis' roughly 8,000 vacant homes and stop crime.

Police officers only have to pay $2,500 for one of the properties if they agree to live there for at least three years. Neighborhood revitalization groups get the same deal, but many of the land bank's properties cost much less.

The Indianapolis Star says that the online land bank is an improvement over buying the properties at auction:

"Abandoned property purchased through a Marion County tax sale is typically sold 'as is,' often leaving the buyer to pay off tax and other liens. But a home purchased from the Indy Land Bank comes with a clean ownership title, free of such liens."