Free Republic

The Portland City Council voted Wednesday to move forward with a plan to foreclose on so-called "zombie homes" for the first time in 50 years as the city grapples with a swelling population and skyrocketing home costs that are locking new homeowners out of the market. Commissioners and the mayor voted 4-0 in favor of the plan, with one member absent. The vote targets five of the city's worst abandoned properties, the first part of a long-term plan to free up housing in an overheated market while clearing out squatters who have plagued developing neighborhoods outside the city's hip core...

Banker Hypprocrisy And Zombie Homes Douglas FrenchApril 30, 2013 Walking away is not just for homeowners anymore. Now banks have joined in and are walking away, leaving thousands of homes vacant because they don’t want to be responsible for maintaining them. While housing bulls urge investors to buy up houses, banks that could control property ownership merely by foreclosing and paying the back taxes, homeowner’s dues, and other expenses are saying no thanks. The math just doesn’t work. The bulls may want to rethink their strategy. “Bank ‘walkaways’ used to be extremely rare, but they have ballooned in the past...