Foreclosures Overwhelm Rural Communities [View All]

[Robb]

Foreclosures Overwhelm Rural Communities

In Dakota County, Minnesota, where there never used to be any foreclosures, the backlog of vacant, unwanted foreclosed houses sets a new record every month, overwhelming the resources of local government to address the health and safety problems they pose. Though August, the county held September 1,349 sheriff's sales. In 2008 the total was 2,063.

Like most of America, rural areas like Dakota County, southwest of Minneapolis and St. Paul, are suffering the blight of foreclosed properties. Unlike suburban or urban markets, however, few foreclosures in Dakota County were caused by risky loans. They result from unemployment and the local economic picture, which is strangling local governments and their ability to maintain the vacant housing stock left behind by laid off workers.

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Just a little sorbet to cut through the taste of the "everyone losing their home is a speculator getting just desserts" meme.