Neighborhood Stabilization Summit

Foreclosures are a huge issue in the United States right now. After July resulted in the worst month in real estate history, the feds are starting to take notice. Today many important professionals met to talk about the compounded problems with foreclosed, abandoned and vacant properties. Read on...

http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/09022010_neighborhood_stabiization_reo.asp
by Jann Swanson

Community organizers, state and federal government officials, and representatives from banking, research and educations institutions are currently meeting in Washington at a REO and Vacant Properties Summit sponsored by the Federal Reserve Bank. The two day conference is focused on examining the problems associated with vacant and abandoned property and to explore approaches to neighborhood stabilization.

Governor Elizabeth Duke, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve pointed out that the impact of each foreclosure goes far beyond that one home; a conference participant estimated that every blighted home negatively impacts five or six nearby homes. Therefore, in Cleveland for example, where 11,500 homes have been foreclosed, 60,000 others can lose value which leads to lower taxes to support schools and other community services. The residents who remain in a community suffer social losses as well as their communities decline.