Post by Forever Sunshine on Aug 29, 2012 20:53:00 GMT -5
U.S. Bank is the country's fifth-largest commercial bank, with 3,000 branches in 25 states. It's also "one of the largest slumlords in the City of Los Angeles," according to the L.A. city attorney's office.
In a complaint filed last month, the office accused U.S. Bank of failing to maintain more than 170 foreclosed properties, blighting neighborhoods, decreasing property values and increasing crime rates.
The allegations are similar to those made in a lawsuit filed by the city attorney's office last year against Deutsche Bank (DB), as well as other complaints from activists around the country who say their communities have suffered as neglected foreclosures deteriorate in the aftermath of the housing bubble.
It's difficult to quantify the issue nationally, but thousands of homes may be at risk of falling into disrepair.
Roughly 620,000 foreclosed properties in the United States are owned by lenders, according to RealtyTrac. The number of these properties, known as REOs, or "real estate owned," surged after the housing bubble but has since begun to drop, down from over one million in January 2011.
Still, of those 620,000 houses, 24% had been waiting for a new buyer for two years or more, and 11% for three years or more.
money.cnn.com/2012/08/29/real_estate/banks-slumlords/index.html?hpt=hp_t3
In a complaint filed last month, the office accused U.S. Bank of failing to maintain more than 170 foreclosed properties, blighting neighborhoods, decreasing property values and increasing crime rates.
The allegations are similar to those made in a lawsuit filed by the city attorney's office last year against Deutsche Bank (DB), as well as other complaints from activists around the country who say their communities have suffered as neglected foreclosures deteriorate in the aftermath of the housing bubble.
It's difficult to quantify the issue nationally, but thousands of homes may be at risk of falling into disrepair.
Roughly 620,000 foreclosed properties in the United States are owned by lenders, according to RealtyTrac. The number of these properties, known as REOs, or "real estate owned," surged after the housing bubble but has since begun to drop, down from over one million in January 2011.
Still, of those 620,000 houses, 24% had been waiting for a new buyer for two years or more, and 11% for three years or more.
money.cnn.com/2012/08/29/real_estate/banks-slumlords/index.html?hpt=hp_t3
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