Mayors Seek Solutions to Vacant-Home Crisis

Miami Herald (06/23/08); Hatcher, Monica
At a meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Miami on June 22, attendees from across the country expressed concern about increasing numbers of foreclosed homes sitting vacant, forcing cities to assume the costs of upkeep. Enterprise Community Partners reports that 44.5 million homes are adjacent to subprime foreclosures, and these homes will drop in value by about $5,000. In response, more cities are hoping to pass the costs of maintaining vacant, foreclosed properties on to lenders; and the Mortgage Bankers Association and Safeguard Properties have joined forces to make it easier for mayors to figure out who to contact at lending companies about code violations. Mayors are using creative means to prevent additional foreclosures, with Frank Otis of Pembroke Pines, Fla., indicating that the city could take over delinquent mortgages on renter-occupied properties: a strategy that could receive help from Congress if the Senate passes legislation that would give states and local governments some $4 billion to purchase and rehabilitate foreclosed homes.