While visiting a friend I was clued in to how many vacant buildings were in her neighborhood. Her next door neighbor's house joined the club a few weeks ago. I helped her mow the front lawn. She is afraid if it looks unkempt it will attract vandalism and copper thieves. These properties fall off the map and sit idle until they become a burden to the city. The article mentions having limits on the amount of time a property can sit idle after foreclosure. It would probably be hard to implement but having a ghost house (or more) in your neighborhood really hurts property values and places a large burden on residents who don't want to live next to a gutted wreck.
--------
Scourge of the city
Saturday, February 26, 2011 05:56 AM
By Mark Ferenchik
The Columbus Dispatch
City officials say there are now 6,117 vacant properties in Columbus, the largest number anyone can remember.
It's the latest sign that the foreclosure crisis continues to take a toll here as neighborhoods battle eyesores and the city sinks more than $50 million in federal money into boosting the hardest-hit areas.
http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2011/02/26/vacant_homes.html?sid=101




Launched in August 2010, TheMetropreneur.com is a local online resource devoted to small business development and entrepreneurship. Its aim is to tell the stories of Central Ohio's business community, foster regional economic development and assist entrepreneurs with its resource-heavy focus.