Families in duplexes definitely experience the effects of abandoned homes when the mold and mildew (and other negative effects) from their attached abandoned property starts to seep through their shared wall, putting their health at risk. Other neighborhoods have experienced repetitive fires of abandoned homes due to vacancy and arson and are unaware of what to do to keep their own homes safe from out of control fires. Still, other homeowners are frustrated with the lack of upkeep of neighboring lawns as it poorly reflects upon their houses.

What, if any, rights do these neighbors have in regards to reducing their suffering?

Unfortunately, there are very few; however, some options do exist. It is essential to understand that the homeowner still maintains the responsibility of the property until it has been taken over by the bank or sold by the homeowner. Therefore, if the problems associated with the abandoned property get out of hand, you do have a right to contact the health department and voice your concerns about your own safety. Be prepared to give detailed information about the exact issues surrounding the abandoned property, including date of vacancy if at all possible.

The health department could then do an inspection themselves and require the homeowner to address the health and safety-related concerns.

If the health department report proves to be unsuccessful, the abandon property neighbors can file a complaint with the city government. Talking with the city government can be very successful, especially if health-related concerns are reported. They often make repairs and carry out other treatments on a case- by-case basis for abandoned properties to prevent public health concerns.

In the end, there are some things that neighbors of abandoned properties can do to alleviate their stress. The most important step for these individuals to take is reporting to the health department and city government in an effort to receive some relief from health-related concerns.

Industry analysts claimed that the high number of Salt Lake City foreclosures and vacant distressed homes all around the region will impact individual communities and neighborhoods and will further aggravate the crisis in the residential property market. The state's nationwide ranking has gone up, with the region ranking fourth in the U.S. in terms of states with the highest rates of foreclosures. Experts also claimed that the housing issue is creating other problems, such as rising crime rates and declining property values.

Recently, a rally was held at the Capitol Rotunda to address problems related to foreclosed homes in Utah. The event also provided information to homeowners on how they can prevent their properties from falling into foreclosure. Latest housing data showed that one household out of every 98 residential units in the state is under some form of foreclosure. The level of foreclosure in the region has prompted analysts and other housing-related organizations to call for new measures that will help address the housing problem of Utah.

The call for more legislation was reportedly prompted by the failure of the Legislature to pass bills meant to address the growing problem of foreclosed land for sale and distressed homes in the state. During the regular session, only one legislative bill was approved by lawmakers that had something to do with the foreclosure problem.

Housing advocates who attended the event have asserted that the rise in foreclosure list properties in the state is also correlated with the rising number of homeless people in the area. According to them, the number of homeless families living in state shelters has risen by 59% in the past few months. They also stated that the housing problem is creating a new kind of poverty, with people who used to have safe mortgages now also included among those who have lost their homes.

The event also addressed the issue of lack of counseling services that were meant to assist homeowners in keeping their homes or preventing their properties from becoming foreclosed land for sale or foreclosed residential properties. Federal financial support for counseling services has been cut recently as part of the budget negotiations addressing the issue of the nation's deficit.

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Even a thriving foreclosure market has not managed to provide much in the way of help in returning the market to its pre-2007 days (and it is doubtful that rising prices will become the norm for several years).

In the British housing market, though, the opposite is true – rising prices continue to be the norm rather than the exception, and something akin to a housing bubble is rearing its head. Could the world’s hottest housing market contain lessons for us here, after already going through a painful housing bubble of our own? Perhaps.

In London, prices continue to rise and investors continue to pounce on available properties, seeking the capital gains that once made many people wealthy prior to 2007. For example, a one-bedroom condo with a tiny garden in a less-than-upscale neighborhood in the city was recently listed for 500,000 pounds, or $800,000. A simple two-bedroom home – modest by any stretch of the imagination – is listed for $2 million.

In short, London real estate is skyrocketing – but this all seems a bit too familiar. Rapidly rising prices are what contributed to the popping of our own bubble, and it appears that is what is happening in the UK.

The main lesson is that prices fall but will eventually pick back up, and when that happens, we could fall victim to the same experiences – namely, investors leaping in to snap up cheap homes and sell again and again for capital gains.

Another lesson is that investors are buying distressed properties without desire to rent or sell them to homeowners. In fact, a good percentage of distressed properties purchased are sold to other investors. In England, rental yields have plummeted, meaning there is no solid foundation to drive return on investments short of selling a “hot” property to another investor.

If that continues to happen here, and expand, it could trigger yet another housing bubble in which distressed properties appreciate in value artificially, instead of naturally. This is something investors and homebuyers should both keep in mind throughout the next couple of years – and look to London for an example.

Sources: 

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-worlds-hottest-real-estate-market-2011-04-19?reflink=MW_news_stmp

http://www.zawya.com/story.cfm/sidZAWYA20110419113158

The rise in the number of Albuquerque foreclosed homes and distressed properties in Rio Rancho also resulted in increased number of vacant homes. In Rio Rancho, latest data showed that 351 houses are currently vacant, with 65 of them under bank ownership. These vacant properties, officials from the program have revealed, are making it difficult for sellers to unload their homes.

They claimed that most buyers are turned off by the presence of empty and abandoned New Mexico foreclosed homes for sale, hence their decision to get them occupied. The program benefits both sellers and so-called caretakers who are asked to occupy the homes. Under the agreement, the families or individuals who will be occupying the vacant for-sale properties can live in these houses for a weekly fee worth $126. In exchange, they are to keep the homes in good condition and prepare them for a showing once interested buyers come knocking.

Once the homes are sold, the caretakers then need to vacate the premises to give way to the new owners. Some of the houses are priced much the same as ordinary fixer upper houses, while others can be worth $600,000 or even over $1 million. According to the caretakers, the main advantage for them is that they are given time to save money for a house that they can buy later.

In addition, they are freed from worries of escalating rental rates or declining values of properties as foreclosure listings continue to rise. For sellers, reports revealed that those properties that are occupied by caretakers tend to sell faster and for higher prices than the ones that are left vacant. People behind the program have also revealed that occupied dwellings tend to have lower number of days in the market, with most of them cutting down the span of time by as much as 49%.

With foreclosed fixer upper houses and distressed homes continuing to be a major concern for the region's housing industry, analysts have stated that the program is actually an effective method to increase sales in the region. They added that the initiative also assists those who are looking for places to live.

With foreclosure homes in Indianapolis and foreclosed commercial properties remaining at high levels, the metro area, along with most of the rest of the state, saw construction activities decline in the past year. Overall, fewer shopping malls, office buildings and other commercial construction projects happened in the whole U.S. in January 2011. According to the Commerce Department, building activities in the whole country dipped by 0.7% in January compared with December 2010.

The decline in activities during December and January caused the annual rate of construction spending to dip to an adjusted amount equivalent to $791.8 billion as of January 2011. The figure was near the decade record low of about $791.5 billion recorded in August of last year. Locally, commercial foreclosures and foreclosure homes in Indiana combined to cause the state to mirror building activities all over the U.S. Economists stated that the current status of construction is only half of the level that can be considered healthy. Most of them also stated that it will take at least four years before the construction market returns to normal.

Meanwhile, the high number of foreclosed houses and Handyman Special homes also affected home construction all over the country. Although home building activities inched higher by 5.3% during the month, private non-residential building activities remained poor, with housing spending reaching a rate of a little over $245 billion.

An oversupply of foreclosure homes and the recession that started around three years ago contributed not only to a slowdown in home building, but also to the poor performance of non-residential construction. The non-residential sector posted a decline of 6.9% in January, with spending going down to an annual rate of over $244 billion. The downturn was precipitated by fewer projects in the hotel and motel segments. Office construction, on the other hand, declined by 6%, while shopping center building dipped by 1.4%. Overall, private construction declined by 1.2% in January, with spending estimated at $490 billion.

Economists are predicting that construction will be much the same for the rest of 2011, with increased number of foreclosures and Handyman Special homes weighing down the residential and commercial property markets. They added that budget deficits at local levels will also hurt the construction sector.

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The program, which will be launched next month, will greatly help lower the number of foreclosed homes in Boston and in the rest of the state, local officials have said. It was designed to provide loans to homeowners who are currently unemployed and are having difficulties paying their monthly mortgages. Qualified applicants will be given a chance to get loans of up to $50,000 to help them save their homes from foreclosure.

Last year, over 12,000 foreclosed homes in Massachusetts were recorded and local authorities are concerned that the number will increase again this year. They stated that the program will provide some breathing room to troubled borrowers who are on the verge of getting their properties foreclosed. Massachusetts is set to receive $61 million from the federal initiative and state officials are expecting applications to flood local government housing offices once the program is launched.

They stated that those who are facing possibilities of getting their residential properties foreclosed or become fixer upper homes for sale due to unemployment are qualified to apply. The program was scheduled to be launched a few months ago, but was delayed due to some unresolved provisions that legislators needed to iron out.

According to officials, the delay was partly due to the issue of whether the bridge loans fall under the category of taxable income. Housing activists reportedly considered filing a lawsuit earlier to put a hold on processing foreclosure homes for sale until the federal aid initiative has been launched.

Now that announcements have been made that the program is all set to start, officials are positive that it will somehow help lower the massive supply of foreclosed properties in the state, including fixer upper homes for sale. Qualified homeowners are reportedly allowed to apply for up to two years of federal assistance under the foreclosure program.

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Although the number of foreclosures in McLean County and other central region communities are not as high as the number of Chicago foreclosed homes, the area is still feeling the effects of the real estate crisis. In some cases, there are five to six foreclosures in just one single block, resulting in the decline of property values in the rest of the neighborhood. Neighbors have stated that they have never seen this kind of housing problem before in their areas.

Most of the foreclosed homes for sale in Illinois are concentrated in big metro areas like Chicago, but smaller areas are feeling it more since four or five foreclosures can effectively bring property values down in a community that is relatively small, particularly those with less than a thousand residents in one town. In McLean County, housing market data showed that foreclosures have jumped by almost 40% since the start of the housing market crisis five years ago until last year.

Distressed homes for sale in the county totaled 535 last year. Realtors in the area are predicting that more residential properties will be lost to foreclosure in 2011. They stated that a regular town in the Central Illinois area may not feel one or two foreclosures, but once the number gets to five or six, then the whole neighborhood is affected.

The rise in the number of foreclosed homes in the region for the past five years has caused prices of residences to go down. Last year, the average selling price of houses in some McLean towns was around $177,000. Although homes are very affordable in the central region, realtors stated that buyers are not too keen in purchasing properties in the area because of the high prices of gasoline and other products.

They also stated that distressed homes for sale have a huge impact on housing prices, as opposed to short sales. They explained that short sales can save a neighborhood, while a distressed or REO sale can weigh down the value of the rest of a community's properties.

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A number of markets in Houston posted higher foreclosure rates in 2010 compared with the previous year, with Kingwood foreclosures and Harris County distressed properties recording increases during the year. At Harris County, foreclosed property numbers rose by 15.75% in 2010 compared with 2009. Around 47,650 foreclosures were posted in the county for 2010, with 2009 foreclosed property numbers totaling 41,169.

Texas foreclosures remain below records posted during the late 1980s when hundreds of Savings and Loan businesses failed. Harris County had a total of 50,238 properties repossessed by owners in 1987. However, the county almost broke the record-setting foreclosed property total posted in one month back in October 1987 when 4,773 foreclosure properties were recorded.

The area offered 4,719 properties in the auction scheduled December 7, bringing the number close to the October 1987 record. People involved in distressed real estate investing are offered more chances in December 2010 as properties under some form of foreclosure rose by almost 18% when compared with the same 2009 month. For the December 2010 auction, 1,241 properties were posted, representing an almost 15% increase when compared with December 2009 for which 1,080 foreclosed properties were offered at auction.

According to housing market analysts, foreclosures are likely to continue to increase in the area in 2011. Most industry experts are predicting that the worst is still waiting ahead for the county's housing market. They stated that the main factor behind the prediction is that foreclosed property number in the region lags behind job market-related indicators.

Although the whole state of Texas is doing relatively better than other U.S. states in terms of foreclosure rate, pockets of areas like Harris County continue to struggle, with most local markets in this region attracting more people interested in distressed real estate investing. The trend is expected to continue until the end of 2011.

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Irvine foreclosures and foreclosed property numbers in most areas of the state remain high until the last part of 2010. Sales of new and existing houses have hit almost historic lows despite record low interest rates and construction activities are practically nonexistent. Added to this is the huge number of area homeowners holding underwater mortgages. These factors, analysts have stated, have collaborated to hold back any form of recovery that seemed to have started in the first half of 2010.

The state has already lost over $1.70 trillion in housing equity due to the high levels of California foreclosures since 2007 and this trend is expected to continue for at least another two years. However, they also stated that California is on its way to a recovery, although it will be a slow, hard climb for the state before it can achieve a balanced market.

A number of analysts have stated that the recovery is not evident, primarily because of government interventions which mask actual foreclosure figures, including data for fixer upper listings. They also stated that the shadow inventory will enter the market come 2011 which will further increase distressed property supplies

Majority of analysts also agree that the first step towards a recovery is price stabilization. According to housing experts, regardless of the level of supplies of foreclosures, as long as prices of homes are stable, the market will recover. They stated that a significant improvement in the job market will also push the market towards a recovery.

Analysts have added that until 2011, the artificial boost in market data caused by government programs will cloud actual industry figures. They concluded that this year, more foreclosed properties and fixer upper listings will litter the California market, but the recovery should be starting by late 2011.

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Owners of properties under Greenville foreclosure listing and those in danger of losing their homes will benefit from these funds, as the Greenville County Human Relations Commission is one of the six South Carolina agencies that will receive some of the grants. Over $350,000 were issued by the government to the state's agencies that provide assistance to first time home buyers and owners facing foreclosure problems.

Owners of foreclosure homes in South Carolina can get assistance from the six local agencies that will be receiving some of the federal grants. Aside from the Greenville County group, the other agencies are Charleston Area CDC, Spartanburg Housing Development Corp., Upstate Homeless Coalition of South Carolina, Trident United Way and Family Services Inc. The last one, the nonprofit Family Services, received a couple of grants that have a combined worth of $116,307.

Most of these organizations not only provide counseling and other forms of assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure risks, but also give aid to home buyers planning to buy Handyman Special homes and other residential property types. These home buyers are also provided counseling and help to avoid foreclosure once they have purchased their homes. Services also include training in financial literacy targeted at homeless people and renters.

According to the officials of the agencies, demand for foreclosure assistance and help in buying foreclosure property homes are in high demand all over the country. The main problem is that a big number of people are not even aware that such aids are available. For the part of the government, officials stated that the funds are provided to the agencies since they are in the frontline of the fight against foreclosure.

They also stated that services aimed at helping buyers of residences like Handyman Special homes and assistance designed for families struggling to keep their residential properties are needed now than at anytime with the housing market still mired in crisis and unemployment rates at their highest levels.