Owners are offered low-interest, long-term rehabilitation loans if they agree to operate the properties as hotels for the poor for 15 to 30 years.

The City of Inglewood will provide an $18 million commercial rehabilitation loan, conditioned on MSG's spending the promised $50 million for improvements.

"That can make as much as a $20,000 difference in the income the buyer has to have to get a rehabilitation loan," Ms. Bayer said.

The City responded by granting the former squatters 58 city owned buildings, money for technical and architectural aid, and $2.7 million in rehabilitation loans.

When the properties are transferred to third-party owners, rehabilitation loans will be in place to upgrade all the properties.

This, in turn, will force the city to abate taxes substantially or subsidize rehabilitation loans to keep rental buildings sound.

In addition to restoring housing, the agency makes individual rehabilitation loans and gives free exterior paint to residents.

Low-interest rehabilitation loans of up to $10,000 an apartment have been obtained from the Department of Housing Preservation and Development so that building improvement can accompany purchase.

Most were built through publicly financed rehabilitation loans in participation with private lenders.

The house would have remained that way had I not obtained a low-interest rehabilitation loan from the city.