Aaron Klein previously served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Treasury Department for Economic Policy and Chief Economist of the U.S. Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee.

In January 2017, Klein issued a report titled “Understanding the True Costs of Abandoned Properties: How Maintenance Can Make a Difference”.

This analysis, shows the true costs associated with the nation’s housing crisis and quantifies for the first time the substantial and numerous impacts foreclosures and vacant and abandoned properties have on homeowners and their communities.

Among the findings Aaron Klein cites:

• The foreclosure of a home will cause a loss of value of at least $130,000 for the home and its neighborhood.
• Over half the total cost of a foreclosure’s impact on neighboring properties comes from the fact that the property is abandoned.
• Vacant properties lead to increases in violent crime with substantial costs: $14,000 per vacant property per year in increased crime, translating into $795 million nationwide for all vacant properties.
• The impact of vacancy on crime increases as the property stays vacant for longer periods, likely plateauing at between 12 and 18 months.
• Vacant buildings are major fire hazards; vacant residential buildings account for one of every 14 residential building fires in America.

To view the report, please click here.

To view a related article from Next City, please click on following link

Dollar Amount Put on Cost of Blight to Neighbors