Occupy Foreclosed Homes Gaining Momentum
Photo by Respres
The latest strategy of the activists is “Occupy Foreclosed Homes”; this is gaining momentum. In Brooklyn the neighbours complained that a house on Vermont Street has been lying vacant for many years.
Three years previously Countrywide refused to modify the loan referring to hidden terms and clauses that were nothing but traps. Bank of America then bought the mortgage and started foreclosure action. This neighbourhood in East New York is one of the poorest localities of America. The foreclosure ratio here is 16:1000 – it being the highest in New York City and one of the steepest across the nation.
The rate of foreclosure is faster than the rate banks are selling them. A report by Government Accountability Office noted that there are high rates of homes lying vacant is because of foreclosures and unemployment. The report noted, “Non-seasonal vacant properties have increased 51% nationally from nearly 7 million in 2000 to 10 million in April 2010, with 10 states seeing increases of 70% or more”.
The banks are mostly neglecting the vacant houses they have foreclosed upon. These crumble and cause blight to the neighbourhood. Walking down East New York it is easy to note that every 6th house is boarded up.
A Los Angeles based study noted that from 2008 to 2012 all the house owners will forfeit see the loss of value on their houses to the tune of $78.8 billion because of increasing foreclosures lying vacant pulling down prices of adjacent buildings.
One of the victims is Tasha Glasgow. For the most part of the last ten years she has been sans a home living life in and out of various shelters in New York City. She has an autistic daughter aged eight as well as a son aged five.
While looking after her children she has to find work. Her hopes were raised when she got a voucher from the city administration saying they would allow her shift from the shelter arrangement. But suddenly that vital assistance was withdrawn when the Mayor Michael Bloomberg started off on austerity measures.
The string of events has caught up with OWS movement. It is now matching the homeless with vacant homes. Recently, the organizers shifted Glasgow and her children to a vacant house on Vermont Street: the unit is now owned by Bank of America. It seems the only sensible thing to do since the banks did not nothing with the bailout money they got from the taxpayers kitty.
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