And therein lies the root of the problem that localities all over the Country are facing; nobody is paying property taxes on those foreclosed homes, or on the ones that are in default right now and waiting to be foreclosed.
The longer those houses set empty, the worse condition they are in and the harder they will be to sell at any price. Even if they do sell, the price is so low that the tax value won’t cover the costs of the City services the house has; water, sewer, street repairs, street lights, Police, Fire...you name it...
“the price is so low that the tax value won’t cover the costs of the City services “
Yeah, but if the house is empyt it’s even worse.
Federal policies to cushion the housing collapse are hurting localities.
Localities are going to have to turn to personal property, sales, income taxes and fees for more of their taxes.
But if the banks won’t sell their REOs for realistic prices even that won’t work
Lesson on how Obama will turn the USA in to North Haiti.
Some cities have gotten really tough on the banks that were letting the properties sit empty with yards not maintained. Passed ordinaces apply hefty daily fines. The banks go wise to that and hired maintenance crews to come out and clean up the yards.
If you live in a city where foreclosures are dragging down the neighborhood because the banks are not keeping them up, get after your local rep in your city. After the city sees how much it can cash in from the banks on this, they will put it in place in a hurry.