According to an article in the Star-Telegram, as more and more homebuilders file for bankruptcy, Dallas-Fort Worth neighborhoods are experiencing widespread blight in new subdivisions because the high number of abandoned properties. Bankrupt builders are moving out and leaving hundreds of homes empty and/or unfinished creating what is quickly becoming a safety issue.
The article said:
It’s a scene being played out all over the area: As builders find it harder and harder to cover the overhead expenses of building a subdivision, with model homes and a sales staff, many are exiting neighborhoods altogether, leaving the unfortunate early buyers to live amid the unfinished mess of empty lots and half-finished homes.
With foreclosures increasing in Dallas-Fort Worth, many would be homebuyers are sitting out the recession for fear that they could be next. As a result, many homebuilders are finding it difficult to sell new construction and they are succumbing to bankruptcy. Portrait Homes, Wall Homes and Sheridan Homes have all filed for bankruptcy as the current foreclosure and credit crisis has eaten away at home sales.
To head off the imminent disaster of so many empty homes, Fort Worth has already assembled a task force to address the issue of abandoned neighborhoods. The task force has given police a list of empty homes for monitoring in an effort to dissuade vagrancy.