"Spooky" Foreclosures To Force Trick-Or-Treaters To Other Neighborhoods

In Detroit, Michigan, The Detroit News reports:

• [I]n several Metro Detroit neighborhoods battered by home foreclosures, the spookiest thing this Halloween is the dramatic numbers of empty homes and "For Sale" signs. With as many as 63,453 homes now for sale in Wayne, Oakland, Macomb and Livingston counties -- many of them empty -- once-well-lighted houses now sit vacant, and some parents say they'll be seeking greener trick-or-treating pastures elsewhere. Several of those who stay behind are stocking fewer bags of candy.

• Venturing to other neighborhoods for better candy is nothing new, but safety concerns now are sending parents to neighborhoods far away from the scatter of dark, empty homes. [...] Real estate agents say that the safety concern is real. Empty homes have had reports of break-ins, vandals looking for copper or whatever may have been left behind. Authorities advise that parents steer their children clear of them.

For more, see Foreclosures scare off trick-or-treaters (Worried parents opt to drive kids to other areas).