An article on home foreclosures that recently appeared on WLKY.com cites a Louisville Courier-Journal report that claims there are more than 6,000 vacant homes in and around the city. The vast majority of these homes are foreclosures. The abandoned properties have become neighborhood eyesores, and city leaders are growing concerned about the hazards that these homes present. In early June 2009, Louisville hosted a national conference that focused on home foreclosures and some Louisville residents said that the conference is long overdue. Prentice Hawkins, a home craftsman who restores old, dilapidated homes, said, “A lot of them I wish I could purchase. I really do because I like doing this kind of work. I hate to see houses in the neighborhood like that going from a nice house to a boarded up house. It really brings the neighborhood down.” A large concentration of Louisville’s foreclosed homes is in the city’s upper west side. The Director of the National Vacant Property Campaign, Jennifer Leonard, claims that Louisville’s foreclosure problems are not unique. “What’s happened over the last couple of years with the foreclosure economic crisis, though, is that cities all across the country large and small, rural, suburban, really strong market cities, and mid-market cities are having increasing problems with vacant properties and abandonment,” she said. She also said that it is in Louisville’s best interests to take strong, proactive measures to reduce the amount of foreclosures throughout the city. Foreclosed homes adversely affect entire communities through neglect, increased rodent populations, lower property values and many other undesirable attributes. Often, foreclosed properties sit vacant for many years and then they become a burden on taxpayers, as the city frequently has to pay for razing the home and removing the hazard. If you need  more information on how to avoid foreclosure, visit the governement’s Guide to Avoiding Foreclosure.  If you would like to invest in Louisville foreclosure properties, feel free to call 502.744.9504 or fill out our contact form for a fast reply!