Boston To Consider Ordinance Requiring Registration Of Foreclosed Homes To Control Blight

In Boston, Massachusetts, WCVB-TV Channel 5 reports:

• You see them popping up throughout the city -- vacant homes in foreclosure, falling into disrepair. The city of Boston has decided to turn up the heat on mortgage companies in an effort to get them to clean up their act. [...] To that end, Boston City Councilor Rob Consalvo will introduce an ordinance that would require companies to register foreclosed properties with the city, identify who's responsible for maintaining the home, post contact information on the property and pay an annual fee of $100 for each vacant home. [...] When lenders don't do their part, the cost of maintaining abandoned homes often falls to the city. The vacant homes also can sometimes drag down the value of neighboring properties. Similar ordinances have already been passed in other cities.

For more, see Boston May Crack Down On Owners Of Foreclosed Properties (Proposed Ordinance Would Require Lenders To Maintain Vacancies).