Don’t Let Vacant Foreclosed Homes Drag You Down

Readers who have ever bought or sold a home know that a large percentage of home buyers decide whether or not to look inside a house or take it seriously based on its “curb appeal” – the view potential buyers have of your home when they drive by or arrive for a showing.

The same can be said for neighborhoods.

Would-be home buyers, appraisers and insurance companies associate the value and attractiveness of your home with both the perceived and actual value of the homes they pass on their way to your front door. Unfortunately, our country’s recent housing crisis has left a number of vacant foreclosed properties in our neighborhoods which can not only diminish the value of your home, they can also impact your area’s “neighborhood appeal.”

Vacant foreclosed homes sold at reduced prices not only steal from the resale value of the entire neighborhood, they also can increase the chances of arson and other crimes and be breeding grounds for rats, mosquitoes and other pests if not properly maintained.

However dire those thoughts may sound, there are some things you can do to try and diminish the potential impact vacant foreclosed homes may have on your neighborhood’s image:

1. Make sure your property owners association, law enforcement and city code officials are aware the house is vacant or not being maintained.

2. If the home is not being maintained, call the bank and ask them to repair broken windows, mow the grass and clean up any trash that may have piled up when your former neighbors abandoned the property.

3. Have neighbors take turns with the yard maintenance and clean-up associated with the vacant home. Pull weeds, mow the grass, clean the gutters, edge the walks or plant flowers. Then put all the trash in a can on the street in front of the vacant house to give it yet another “lived in” look. If you can, get written permission to keep the property clean from your former neighbors before they vacate or from the bank so as not to run afoul of trespass laws in your area.

4. Last but not least, activate or reactivate your neighborhood watch program to keep an eye on the property day and night. Report any suspicious activity you see at the vacant property to police - don’t investigate for yourself.

For more information and articles on how vacant, foreclosed homes can hurt you and ways you can fight back, contact the National Association of Realtors® at www.HouseLogic.com.

House to House is written by Amy Glover Bryant, APR and

distributed weekly by the Arkansas Realtors Association