The Republican Herald reports from Pennsylvania. "The process to foreclose vacant and abandoned properties would be speeded up to fight blight under legislation written by two senators from Northeast Pennsylvania. Sens. David Argall, R-29, and John Blake, D-22, Archbald, plan to introduce a bill soon to make Pennsylvania the eighth state with a 'fast-track' foreclosure law. The legislation would shorten a process that can now take anywhere from 300 to 540 days and will apply only to property that meets criteria for being vacant and abandoned, the senators said."

"Foreclosure occurs when lenders seize a property because the owner can’t keep up with mortgage payments. A lengthy foreclosure process allows properties to decay, become dangerous eyesores and reduce property values in the surrounding neighborhood, Argall said. 'We believe we can get it down to 60 days,' Argall said."

The Buffalo News in New York. "It takes an average of 2.7 years to complete a foreclosure in New York State. That figure from RealtyTrac is more than a year longer than the national average, and it astounds and frustrates observers, particularly when home buyers are scouring the marketplace for deals. Everyone asks, why does it take so long, especially in cases where the properties are abandoned and have come to be known as 'zombie homes'?"

"Assemblyman Michael Kearns, D-Buffalo, rattles off addresses of properties in Erie County with incomplete foreclosures. Oftentimes, he said, there are prospective buyers wondering why they are blocked from making deals. 'The frustration point is that these properties have value,' he said. Kearns mentioned a foreclosed home on Woodside Avenue in South Buffalo that a police officer wanted to purchase. A bank started a foreclosure on that property in 2010 but hasn’t completed it, he said. 'This is an epidemic and it’s been hidden for too long.'"

The Bucyrus Telegraph on Ohio. "We've all seen them, the properties that aren't maintained. The grass in the yard is rarely mowed, the paint on the house is peeling. There are literally hundreds of such properties across town, and they don't exactly contribute toward making Bucyrus a more beautiful place to live. 'It's the absentee landlords, I like to use the term property hoarders. It's people who are holding onto these properties, most of them don't even live in town. Many of them bought in when the market was going up and now they're stuck. I understand they may not be financially able, but that was the risk you took when you bought the property,' said city law director Robert Ratliff."

"'If you paid $100,000 for a house eight years ago it's probably only worth $60,000 today, and if it needs $20,000 in repairs and you're already $20,000 to $40,000 underwater, who's going to do that? We've got an oversupply of bad properties. We've got to change that equation,' he said."

The Mail Tribune in Oregon. "From the richest subdivisions of east Medford to the poorest neighborhoods west of the railroad tracks, 436 mostly bank-owned houses sit vacant, often attracting vagrants and drug users and creating a nuisance for their neighbors. In the Chestnut Street area west of Columbus Avenue, there are about a half-dozen boarded-up houses. One was gutted by fire years ago, and another has collapsed so that only the peak of the roof remains. 'I’d like them to move that away,' says Dale Greenberg, a 79-year-old neighbor. He says there are three lots and two abandoned houses remaining on them.

"On Delta Waters Road in northeast Medford, 49-year-old Jane Lee looks at two empty houses, one of which is boarded up. A third house was empty but Lee says the new owners bought it in a foreclosure sale. 'They’ve been empty a really long time,' she says. 'I’m hoping somebody does something with them. It’s better than them sitting there.'"

The Las Vegas Sun in Nevada. "Las Vegas’ once-devastated housing market has turned the valley into a squatter’s paradise. The real estate industry has improved the past few years, but with thousands of empty houses still out there — after foreclosures, layoffs and other financial woes pummeled the region — police are getting a rising volume of calls about suspected squatters valleywide."

"Metro Police said they received at least 4,458 squatter-related service calls last year, up 24 percent from 2014, 69 percent from 2013 and 169 percent from 2012. 'They are everywhere,' said Officer Jose Martinez, who targets squatter homes in the northwest valley. 'There’s a very good chance that you have a squatter within a half-mile of your own house right now.'"

From Capital and Main on California. "Speaking at a real estate conference last September in Florida, Greg Geiser, CEO of Wedgewood Inc., an investment company headquartered in Redondo Beach, California, claimed that his firm is the biggest 'fix and flip' company in the country. But for many families, Wedgewood’s business practices are the cause of much distress. One of them is the Caamal family in Rialto, California, a working class suburb near Los Angeles. Wedgewood is trying to evict Mercedes and Pablo Caamal from their modest house, where they have lived for 10 years and in which they have invested their life savings to purchase and improve."

"The Caamals came to the United States from Mexico in the 1970s and are American citizens. Mercedes, 58, and Pablo have both worked at cooks in local restaurants. They purchased the house in Rialto in 2006. They have five children who are pursuing successful lives. Their 19 year old daughter Daisy is a full-time college student in San Francisco who supports herself by working in a restaurant. Their 23 year old daughter Merari is also a college student who lives at home and works part time in a warehouse. Elizabeth, their 27 year old daughter, also lives at home and works in the same cafeteria, at Cal State-San Bernardino, as her parents. Their 32 year old son Moises and 35 year old daughter Christy are married and live with their respective families."

"But in 2010, at the height of the economic crisis, the Caamals’ dream started to become a nightmare. Both Mercedes and Pablo were laid off from their jobs at cooks at a local private college cafeteria. They quickly found new jobs and, like many Americans struggling to make ends meet during the economic hard times, applied for a loan modification with Wells Fargo. The bank immediately granted a temporary modification. The Caamals never missed a payment on their mortgage, but Wells Fargo nevertheless denied their request for a permanent modification and then began returning their payments."

"This, too, is an experience that millions of Americans have faced, because Congress failed to require banks to participate in loan modifications (including a tool called 'principal reduction') as part of the 2010 Dodd-Frank bank reform law."

"After Wells Fargo put the home up for sale at an auction, Wedgewood — which purchases and sells foreclosed properties around the country — bought the Caamals’ home last September for $284,000. After the Caamals and their supporters held a protest at Wedgewood’s headquarters, the company reluctantly agreed to hold off on eviction long enough for the family to secure financing for a loan to repurchase the home."

"But Wedgewood reneged on its promise and demanded that the Caamals pay $375,000 for the home they are still living in. The Caamals say they are willing to pay that price — and have qualified for a mortgage to make the payments — but Wedgewood has refused their offer. 'Why is Wedgewood evicting us, when we’re offering to give them a $100,000 profit on their investment?' Mercedes Caamal said. 'I don’t understand why they won’t accept our money.'"