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Uncle Sam Landlord Of Foreclosed Homes

By
Real Estate Broker/Owner

248,000 homes

That's how many residential properties the U. S. government now has in its possession, the result of record numbers of people defaulting on government backed mortgages. Washington is sitting on nearly a 3rd of the nation's 800,000 repossessed houses, making the U. S. taxpayer the largest owner of foreclosed properties.

foreclosed homes in the usWith even more homes moving toward default, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Housing Administration are looking for a way to unload them without swamping the already depressed real estate market.

They haven't figured out how to do that. The government admitted as much in August, when Fannie, Freddie and FHA issued a joint plea to the public for ideas about how to solve the problem (email ideas to reo.rfi@fhfa.gov).

Since the 2008 financial collapse, the government has spent billions of dollars trying to stabilize neighborhoods. The results have been disappointing. The Obama Administration has helped about 657,000 homeowners, far short of its goal of 3 to 4 million. Many families hit hardest by the housing downturn are concentrated in states that are recovering from the recession, including Florida, Ohio and Nevada.

The government's call for ideas is a sign it is deluged with repossessions and struggling to figure out what to do with 248,000 foreclosed homes it took over.
references: lorraine woellert, clea benson, bloomberg businessweek, donsrealty

Comments (4)

Diane Grady
Endless Summer Realty - Saint Augustine, FL

Those are absolutely astonishing numbers. How will we ever dig out from all of this. I have a feeling that harder times are soon to come. Thank you for the info. Good to know this. I did not think that the numbers were that high!!

Sep 14, 2011 12:56 AM
Bill Blankenship
Lisa Von Domek & Associates, LLC / Real Living Real Estate Group - Midlothian, TX

Good morning Donald,

Just proves, once again, that the government can't fix anything and needs to get out of the way.

Sep 14, 2011 12:58 AM
Mike Cooper, Broker VA,WV
Cornerstone Business Group Inc - Winchester, VA
Your Neighborhood Real Estate Sales Pro

Donald, what could go wrong, right?  I mean, after all, look at the Post Office, Social Security and Medicare.  What could go wrong?  Oy vey!

Sep 14, 2011 01:02 AM
Wallace S. Gibson, CPM
Gibson Management Group, Ltd. - Charlottesville, VA
LandlordWhisperer

This is a VERY BAD IDEA - the defaulting homeowners SHOULD have been allowed to REfi these properties.  Unlike the RTC in the 80s - these homes will NEVER be REsold once they have tenants in them, neighborhoods will suffer AND these properties will go OFF of state and local tax rolls...

Sep 14, 2011 01:10 AM