January 23: Kaptur Calls on President to Address the Region’s Foreclosure and Vacancy Crises

Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur and over a dozen other members of Congress sent a letter to President Obama today urging the White House to take strong action to end the foreclosure, abandonment, and vacancy crises in our region.

This letter is the latest in a series of actions Congresswoman Kaptur has taken to ramp up the federal government's response to Northern Ohio's real estate crisis. Last month, the Congresswoman organized a meeting between the U.S. Treasury and the Ohio's Western Reserve Land Conservancy to encourage additional federal assistance for Ohio's struggling homeowners. Don Graves, the executive director of President Obama's Council on Jobs and Competitiveness—and a Cleveland area native—attended this meeting.

Northern Ohio has been particularly hard hit by the foreclosure crisis with tens of thousands of homes now sitting empty and quickly falling into decay. There are an estimated 13,000 vacant structures in Cleveland alone, with as many as 30,000 in all of Cuyahoga County.

"Abandoned structures can have a devastating impact on local neighborhoods," said Kaptur. Vacant properties can become havens for criminal activities and can dramatically bring down the value of surrounding homes. In parts of Cuyahoga County, homes are now selling for as little as 8% of their appraised value. "We need to fix up abandoned properties as quickly as possible, so families can turn them back into homes again."

"Unfortunately, some of these properties have deteriorated beyond repair," said Kaptur. The city of Toledo has identified a list of approximately 700 properties that need to be demolished. In addition, there are an estimated 70,000 homes across Ohio which also must be demolished. "It is important to find appropriate uses for these sites as quickly as possible," said Kaptur.

"We must do more to help our region get back on its feet and move beyond this crisis that Wall Street created."

Click on the image below to read the letter.