I recently found this article from last year detailing how homeowners in one of the more affluent neighbourhoods in Cleveland were spending a great deal of money maintaining the vacant homes in their neighbourhood to keep property prices up. Of course, this article was written before the great recession that exists now, but there is interestingly, a great deal of doom and gloom throughout the article. With so many foreclosures throughout North America and other developed countries, one has got to wonder to what lengths individuals will take to keep up the prices of their own properties. The article also, sadly enough, details how many of the vicitims of sloppy lending and foreclosures are elderly people or those less than wealthy citizens who have strived to keep themselves above water.
You can view the entire article here

