Distressed

A new state law meant to combat the blight of "zombie" homes across New York lacks effective enforcement to hold banks accountable for actually maintaining the properties on Staten Island.

The Toledo, Ohio, area is among the top five metro area in the country with the highest share of mortgaged properties that are "seriously underwater," that is, more is owed than the property is worth.

Mortgage holders could see their security interest wiped out if a borrower in Texas or Nevada gets a property tax loan where the lien has priority over the first mortgage.

Blighted, abandoned properties in Hornell, N.Y., are not only in-check, according to officials, but they're declining at a rapid pace.

Fires can make or break Staten Island, N.Y., zombie homes.

Tupelo, Miss., Mayor Jason Shelton is outlining his administration's goals and methods as it ramps up a fresh focus on blight removal across the city's residential areas.

Foreclosure actions on Cape Cod are showing their first decrease in four years, aided by a red-hot housing market that's making it easier for distressed homeowners to offload their property before losing it to the bank.

Getting rundown or blighted properties renovated to meet safety codes and restored to the tax rolls is the goal of a program known as receivership, a report about which was presented to the Holyoke, Mass., City Council.

Over the past 20 years, 395 code violation cases with $4.46 million in unpaid fines have piled up at City Hall.

Foreclosure activity continued to slow last month in the Pikes Peak region.