Apparently there are lots of houses?

[MrAngryFace]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22506609/

In fact, Cooper and Nowak are at the forefront of a pioneering effort to deal with a vexing problem: The surging number of vacant and abandoned homes resulting from the mortgage market meltdown. The vacancies occur when lenders bring foreclosure suits against delinquent borrowers. Mere notice that such an action might be filed often sends residents packing. In Buffalo and other Rust Belt cities, the problem has been particularly acute, because in many cases banks are abandoning the houses, too, after determining that their value is so low that it's not worth laying claim to them. When city officials try to hold someone responsible for dilapidated properties, they often find the homeowner and bank pointing fingers at each other. Indeed, the houses fall into a kind of legal limbo that Cleveland housing attorney Kermit J. Lind calls "toxic title". While formal ownership remains with a borrower who has fled, the bank retains its lien on the property. That opens up a dispute over who is responsible for taxes and maintenance. Even when lenders do complete the foreclosure, they may walk away from the property, leaving it to be taken by a city for unpaid taxes, a process that can take years. Orphaned properties quickly fall into disrepair, the deterioration sometimes hastened by vandals who trash the interiors, lighting fires and ripping out wiring and pipes to sell for scrap. Squatters or drug dealers may move in.

lol

[MrAngryFace]

[The Fake Shemp]

No Homes for Old Men

[FlameOfCallandor]

No Homes for Old Men

 
I dont know why that was so funny.

[MrAngryFace]

No Homes for Old Men

b- meh

[The Fake Shemp]

 

spoiler (click to show/hide)

[close]

[demi]

where we're going, we won't need homes to live in

[Eric P]

this is bad as is the rise of development condos.

what happens if they condo developers misjudged the market?  they'll end up with a highrise of nothing.

[Fragamemnon]

Seattle or North Carolina-we're immune to the housing bubble! 

Maybe the local governments should find a way to take these "toxic title" homes and turn them into managed section 8 housing run by local property management businesses.

[Eric P]

Seattle or North Carolina-we're immune to the housing bubble! 

Maybe the local governments should find a way to take these "toxic title" homes and turn them into managed section 8 housing run by local property management businesses.

imagine the uproar from the neighbors though

[Fragamemnon]

imagine the uproar from the neighbors though

as opposed to letting the lawns grow over and have the place gutted or squatted?

[Van Cruncheon]

maybe we should turn the houses into paulite-approved GOLD STORAGE for our FUTURE WEALTH

ron paul

only the power of the free market can save these homes!

[Fragamemnon]

I want MY MONEY BIN where I can swim in my GOLD.

[tiesto]

Well, Buffalo at its height (the 1950's) had over 600,000 living in the city limits, when I lived there the population was about 290,000 and now I think it's down to 280,000... about 90% of the people I went to college with, who were from the metro area, left for greener pastures, a lot of them went to DC, some to Seattle, a couple to LI/NYC and CT... Outside of the university and small pockets here and there, there are hardly any jobs remaining. Many of the factories closed down and remain on the waterfront, abandoned and rotting. Combined with the constant grey skies in the winter and the famed snowfalls, it's one of the most depressing places I've ever been to. Some of the suburbs are very nice though if you can get past the weather (the university was in Amherst, one of the safest cities in the US and very comparable to the part of Long Island I'm from).

Quite a number of these abandoned houses mentioned are crack houses, especially on the East Side... in fact there are whole streets with abandoned houses there. The Buffalo metro has some of the lowest housing costs in the country, too. It's funny I could probably buy a house on the East Side with slightly more than I paid for my car, but why in god's name would I want to???

[Eric P]

imagine the uproar from the neighbors though

as opposed to letting the lawns grow over and have the place gutted or squatted?

but that's the thing.  the homeowner next door will be pissed because poor people now live next to him in free house when he most likely paid through the nose to receive a comperable home.

[MrAngryFace]

Well, Buffalo at its height (the 1950's) had over 600,000 living in the city limits, when I lived there the population was about 290,000 and now I think it's down to 280,000... about 90% of the people I went to college with, who were from the metro area, left for greener pastures, a lot of them went to DC, some to Seattle, a couple to LI/NYC and CT... Outside of the university and small pockets here and there, there are hardly any jobs remaining. Many of the factories closed down and remain on the waterfront, abandoned and rotting. Combined with the constant grey skies in the winter and the famed snowfalls, it's one of the most depressing places I've ever been to. Some of the suburbs are very nice though if you can get past the weather (the university was in Amherst, one of the safest cities in the US and very comparable to the part of Long Island I'm from).

Quite a number of these abandoned houses mentioned are crack houses, especially on the East Side... in fact there are whole streets with abandoned houses there. The Buffalo metro has some of the lowest housing costs in the country, too. It's funny I could probably buy a house on the East Side with slightly more than I paid for my car, but why in god's name would I want to???

http://www.theonion.com/content/node/33874