What happens when a city owns a home?

[Richard Wormwood]

I know every state and municipality within will have its own various rules and regs on a city-owned property but when checking local records; I have come across a curious situation more than once.

It seems that at some point a city has "purchased" a real property (or vacant land) for $10. When I pull the local documents attached to the property, they often have the owner's signatures.

I am just wondering if anyone else has come across this?

Is this from a take lien?

Did the city just seize the property?

How would you proceed to attempt to procure the property for rehab and resale?