Paul Halvorson surveyed localities in north Minneapolis and listed more than 30 abandoned foreclosed houses in a 14-block area. It was during the last three months that numbers suddenly shot up. It doubled in many places. Halverson of Third Way Network is engaged in a non-profit organization that deals with affordable housing. He notes that many of the houses lining the streets are strong and well looked after. But there are dozens where water supply has been cut off and condemnation notice stuck on the main doors. It is mainly foreclosures that have caused the occupants to walk away after locking doors. This has not prevented from vagrants, drug peddlers and prostitutes from breaking in. There are clear signs of a door having been kicked in. The notice saying that occupancy is not permitted has blatantly been ignored.

The increasing foreclosure crisis has become a curse for neighbourhoods. The deserted units attract the vandals and thieves who salvage whatever they can of fittings and fixtures. The social fabric is slowly but surely cracking exposing the law of the jungle. As the neighbourhood conditions fall the crime rate goes up. Drug dealers hang around. Families keep indoors cut off from the wild outside. Crime reaches such proportions that it hinders rehabilitation work. Halvorson says, “The copper gets removed from the plumbing” as vandalism take over. Washers, dryers, refrigerators and stoves are looted openly. It makes it difficult to rent out the house in the near future when legalities have been sorted out.

The foreclosure crisis is causing many lenders to tighten their loan sanctions. This has created another problem of new houses remaining unsold. Lenders are turning away potential qualified buyers. A dozen new houses in north Minneapolis waits for buyers. Perhaps the pendulum is swinging too far from too easy loans to too difficult loans. This bodes ill for the real estate market and the health of the locality.

The foreclosure crisis has at last given a shake to the federal regulators and the politicians. They are putting pressure on the banks to help struggling borrowers by reducing interest, waiving the principal and extending grace periods. In Minnesota a bridge loan is another alternative launched by Minnesota Housing to help foreclosure victims.

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