Central Indiana's Abandoned Home Problem At Crisis Proportions; Lender Inaction Leaves Some Properties In Legal Limbo

In Indianapolis, Indiana, WTHR-TV Channel 13 reports:

• From starter homes in Greenwood to million-dollar mansions in Geist, tens of thousands of homes throughout central Indiana are now vacant, abandoned or in foreclosure. While some of the properties are being well maintained, most are not.

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• 13 Investigates' tour of abandoned homes found properties that have been ransacked and vandalized. Others have collapsed ceilings. Rotten food, mold and mildew create foul odors that neighbors call "unbearable."

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• In the past two years, the Marion County Health Department has seen a 30% increase in unsafe housing complaints, largely fueled by the recent foreclosure crisis that has prompted many families to give up their homes. [... I]n some situations, 13 Investigates has learned banks and mortgage companies take no action on abandoned properties, leaving both the city and neighbors in a legal limbo.

The existing unsafe conditions in some of the homes is highlighted by caved-in ceilings, the proliferation of toxic black mold, the presence of dead animals inside the homes, and the death of a five year old child, who reportedly drowned in an unsecured pool of a vacant, foreclosed home.

For more, see Foreclosed and forgotten (read story) (watch WTHR Channel 13 video).

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