[MassHistPres] Tornado damaged houses

[Ralph Slate]

As people are probably aware, Springfield was hit by a tornado on 
Wednesday. It ripped through the heart of one of our historic districts.

Unfortunately, some of the properties are bank-owned. Without a diligent 
homeowner, we are concerned that open roofs will lead to the eventual 
loss of these properties. There is likely no insurance in such situations.

We have successfully petitioned the courts in the past to appoint 
receivers on properties, however this process usually takes a long time; 
we will need to act in a matter of days and weeks, not months and years 
(the last one we did took 18 months to gain receivership,. and this was 
after we had proven that the owner had been deceased for 2 years!)

Does anyone have any experience in a similar situation?

Thanks,

Ralph Slate
Chair, Springfield Historical Commission