I have a better idea for him: tell the City where you actually live, pay the back taxes you neglected to pay, pull the permits you neglected to acquire, address the complaints filed by inspectors, comply with historic ordinances you seem to have ignored, and explain to someone the transaction history of the property. In other words, don’t be a nuisance property owner and you won’t be treated like one. Then, we’ll see about your buying the property back.
http://www.mayorslay.com/desk/display.asp?deskID=1432

Ouch.

The article he was referring to was one in which a man was wanting to rehab and flip a small condo building. For three years he didn't pay taxes, didn't tell the city anything, and he moved and never gave the city his correct address, so he lost the property. Obviously, losing the property was his fault. However, there are probably thousands of properties across the city [[mostly on the North Side) that are vacant and some in horrible shape, and the city never seems to do anything about it. So it does seem like not all the vacant property owners are dealt with this sharply. The city just passed a bill to put together a vacant property database, so maybe they'll get tougher on all of these neglectful property owners.

One of the largest owners of this type is Paul McKee. He has a plan in the billions of dollars to build new residences on the North Side of town [[the bad part of town), but before he announced that plan, he took windows out of buildings so they would rot faster and he did nothing to rehab the buildings he acquired [[under different company names). In some cases, he kicked the tenants out so the house would begin to decay. Yet the city celebrates him. Fortunately, he is rehabbing the James Clemen Mansion, so maybe he can redeem himself yet. But I think if you're gonna get tough with a neglectful property owner, you need to get tough with them all. Of course, that's just my perspective.