Will vacancy cost Obama votes?

It’s hard to do grassroots canvassing when most of the neighborhood is in foreclosure.

“The nation’s foreclosure crisis rarely is mentioned by the presidential candidates, but it looms large as their campaigns grapple with finding evicted voters in swing states.

Organizers are discovering scores of vacated homes in key battlegrounds that contributed strong turnouts in the 2008 election. In the past four years, more than 3.7 million homes have been lost to foreclosure, according to market research firm CoreLogic.

The Worst Neighbor? A Bank

photo credit: Tess Vigeland (via Marketplace.org)

I just heard a really poignant Marketplace report on the impact of vacancy on neighborhoods.  With the rash of foreclosures following the sub-prime mortgage meltdown, many properties came into the sole possession of banks, including Bank of America and JPMorgan.  Putting aside the damage done by the foreclosure process itself, what is perhaps more destructive is the vacancy that follows.

The biggest issue?  Banks don’t take care of these properties.  And it’s easy for disrepair to become blight, especially in a neighborhood plagued by systemic vacancy.

Considering the Legal Foreclosure Pipeline

photo credit: The truth about

We often talk about the ordeal of foreclosure in terms of individuals, families, and neighborhoods.  Recently, we’ve been considering the role of banks in dealing with foreclosure proceedings, most notably, their wrongdoings.  One thing I’ve hardly considered: the role of the courts.

Slowing Foreclosure, Stabilizing Neighborhoods

photo credit: The Truth About

This weekend, the New York Times ran a great article that highlights the complicated relationship between lenders and homeowners in foreclosure.  Once a homeowner stops making mortgage payments, the lender’s response can fall along a spectrum, from borderline philanthropy to downright aggression.  

San Francisco uncovers a “Crisis of Compliance”

Copyright © 2004 Mai-Linh Doan

San Francisco City and County recently reviewed 382 residential mortgage loans on the books between 2009 and 2011.  Their goal was to check these mortgages for irregularities and ensure compliance with local laws.  Their findings: a 99% irregularity rate and a 84% violation rate (for applicable laws).