Blue Hills Before & After

The owners of this Blue Hills property passed away and their heirs later abandoned the property. Legal Aid worked with volunteer attorneys from Kutak Rock LLP to file a Missouri Abandoned Housing Act lawsuit. After over a year of serving the necessary parties and hearing no response, the Blue Hills Neighborhood Association was granted possession of…

Urban Homesteading #2

CLICK ON ANY IMAGE TO OPEN GALLERY This property is in the Indian Mound Neighborhood Association, one of our community partners. The neighborhood association chose a 60-year-old man with over two decades of construction experience to be the Urban Homesteader. He immigrated to this country from Cuba as a teenager and has been living here…

Urban Homesteading #1

CLICK ON ANY IMAGE TO OPEN GALLERY The current owner-occupant of this Neighbors United for Action property in Kansas City renovated it under the Urban Homesteader Project. The neighborhood association sought assistance from Legal Aid’s Adopt-A-Neighborhood Project in dealing with four vacant homes on the same block. Legal professionals from Kutak Rock law firm and…

Before & After: House #3

This abandoned house was owned by a company in Australia. Legal Aid worked with volunteer attorneys to file an Abandoned Housing Act lawsuit on behalf of the neighborhood association. Once the Court granted entry to the property, the neighborhood and their contractors found that the property had sustained significant fire damage. The contractors—a father-son team…

Before & After: House #1

The Tri-Blenheim Neighborhood Association approached Legal Aid about this dilapidated house in 2016. Legal Aid worked with a volunteer attorney to file an Abandoned Housing Act lawsuit. Under court supervision, the contractor—a dedicated community partner who lives just a few blocks from the property—began work in late 2019. The contractor has since completed all repairs…

Before & After: House #4

After the owner of this vacant house passed away, the title changed hands several times due to fraudulently recorded deeds. A volunteer attorney from Lathrop GPM helped the Tri-Blenheim Neighborhood Association file an Abandoned Housing Act lawsuit to clear title and abate nuisance conditions. The neighborhood’s rehabilitation partners completed all repair work and later sold…