One Third Of North Minneapolis Vacant Foreclosures Are "Wrecking Ball" Candidates, Says Non-Profit Housing Official

In Minnesota, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports:

• One-third of the foreclosed houses inspected so far in north Minneapolis are candidates for demolition, according to the agency trying to rehab the state's largest concentration of empty housing. Carolyn Olson of Greater Metropolitan Housing Corporation (GMHC) said her nonprofit housing organization has been inside 157 of the hundreds of foreclosed North Side homes. It's evaluating them for fix-up and resale.

• But many pose a range of problems, from neglect issues like rampant mold to functional obsolescence due to size or floor plan. Some simply cost too much to fix. One house the agency toured contained only 500 square feet of space -- less than a standard one-bedroom public housing high-rise apartment -- carved into four apartments. "That's probably not a keeper," Olson said.

• Some houses have caving retaining walls. One otherwise nice triplex was covered in mold, Olson said. One reason for the neglect, Olson said, is that about two-thirds of the foreclosed homes were owned by investors rather than occupants. "Some of that has not been very well taken care of," she said.

For more, see First, a wave of foreclosures; next, the wrecking ball? (One estimate says a third of foreclosed homes in north Minneapolis should probably be demolished).

Go here for other posts on vacant homes leaving its mark on neighborhoods. neighborhood destruction from foreclosures I