Baltimore County is searching for abandoned homes, but finding them may be more complicated than you would think.

While the county has found only 41 vacant homes so far, officials say the actual number could be in the thousands.

The county is coming up with a list of abandoned homes now because the County Council recently passed a law which takes effect April 10 defining what constitutes a vacant house. So in theory, the county legally can do something about a residential property, such as getting it back on the real estate market.

Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr. proposed the legislation. His administration now is figuring out how to implement it.

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“We’re having iterative conversations about what the technology looks like, what the processes will be, how we then respond to it,” Olszewski said. “But the good news is we have the foundational legal authority to begin that work.”

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