Rehabbers in line to help Hobart and Merrillville communities with blight

To reach that common goal, though, the rehabbers consider business and the municipalities want to eliminate problems in their neighborhoods.

But the two groups also have a common problem -- getting an accurate list of available inventory.

"The issue all of us face is inventory. Unless you're buying 2,000 houses across the country, you won't get that list from the bank," said James Streczovski, who rehabs houses and rents them out, often on a rent-to-own basis.

Streczovski was among a handful of rehabbers and others who met Thursday with members of Merrillville's Abandoned Houses and Blight committee to see what they could do to help each other reach their goal.

Also attending the meeting was Hobart Councilman John Brezik, D-5th, a member of that city's new abandoned house committee.

Rehabbers presented a sense of urgency in capturing as much of the inventory available quickly.

"The timing of the market needs to be considered," said David Overman, of D&K Interior Design. "As there becomes a shortage of inventory, the number of guys around this table will disappear."

Among suggestions made by rehabbers at the meeting were for the communities to buy the houses and sell them to the rehabbers or to list the rehabbers on each community's website as companies that can have access to information regarding houses possibly going up for sale.

Merrillville Councilman Richard Hardaway, D-2nd, said there would need to be an application process first so town officials can be sure the companies do quality work.

"We want the people on the block to be happy with your work," said Hardaway, who chairs Merrillville's Abandoned Houses and Blight committee.

Merrillville has identified 165 properties as not being maintained, about three-quarters of which are owned by someone who's paying the taxes so they won't go on a Lake County tax sale.

Brezik said Hobart has about 75 to 100 houses that are vacant and abandoned, seven or eight of which will be condemned and demolished.

"The most important thing is to get an accurate list of homes. The second is to find out the legal status of them," Brezik said.

He said banks often won't give out any information on a house and communities don't have the staff to sift through the information at Lake County offices.

"This is the direction in which we were heading. We want a working relationship with people who'll help us," Brezik said.

To sweeten the deal, Brezik said the committee is considering offering incentives for rehabbing the abandoned properties, especially if the property will go to a veteran.

Hardaway said after the meeting that he's sure there were some people sitting around the table that the town can work with.

He said the town will give those rehabber who do quality work the information on who to contact when the town knows a house is available for purchase.

"Let them contact the guy who's explicitly said he doesn't want the house. We'll be like a clearinghouse. We want to be a pass-through," Hardaway said.

He said he would be willing to work with rehabbers who put the houses up for sale or rent them on their own.