Thursday August 15, 2013 Vol. 1, No. 25 Hot news tip? Want to advertise? Call (309) 741-9790!
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‘Distressed properties’ worse than foreclosures By BILL KNIGHT
Communities such as Brimfield and Elmwood are stepping up efforts to deal with messy properties through letters to owners or notices from police, and such moves may be less about appearance or nuisance than protecting neighborhood property values. A recent Federal Reserve study found that homes that are untidy and where owners are behind in mortgage payments can depress nearby values more than foreclosed properties. Peoria-area Realtors say that foreclosures are still a negative factor – along with vacant homes and even rental For The Weekly Post
properties. Homeowners shouldn’t fret when a neighbor is forced into foreclosure, the legal process in which a lender repossesses a property because of nonpayment or default. An area’s property values actually start to drop earlier, when borrowers start skipping payments or ignoring maintenance on homes. The effect of foreclosure isn’t as great as conventional wisdom seems to suggest, according to “Foreclosure Externalities: Some New Evidence,” a working paper from the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. Foreclosure is a factor, but less than how a place
looks and whether homeowners keep up with their loans. Dallas Hancock, Executive Director of the Peoria Area Association of Realtors (PAAR), appreciates such subtleties but says that foreclosures remain a significant factor. “It is true that a pre-foreclosed property is usually not as well-maintained as a foreclosed property, but PAAR’s experience is that multiple foreclosed properties will have an impact on nearby property values,” she said. “Often the pre-foreclosure is not being maintained by the owner or by the asset manager or bank. “Even if the owner is still in the
property after the foreclosure, they stop maintaining it. If the city places a notice to mow or maintain the yard, the property owner still won’t do it because they know the city will mow and just place a lien on the property – which is then the bank’s problem. Even if the property is vacant, until redemption is complete, most of the banks will not do anything with the property – even mow it – unless a notice is posted by the city, at which point they mow to avoid a lien.” The lead author of the Atlanta Fed’s paper said that past studies overestimated foreclosures’ negative impact of 0.5 to 8 percent on neighbors’ property Continued on Page 8
BULLFROG BUDDIES
Dignitaries scoop dirt to start a new assisted living facility in Elmwood to be run by Country Comfort Retirement Homes. Photo by Jeff Lampe.
Ground broken for assisted living center in Elmwood By JEFF LAMPE
ELMWOOD – Starting next spring, senior citizens in The Weekly Post area who are seeking assisted living care will not have to travel quite so far. That’s thanks to development of an 8,700 squarefoot, 16-bed facility being built on the north end of Elmwood, just south of Maple Lane Country Club off Illinois Route 78. “Without Elm Haven (a retirement home that closed in Elmwood several years ago) it eliminated an option for people,” said Dick Taylor, Elmwood’s director of economic development. “Now we have that opportunity again. Plus it’s going to be an opportunity for employment.” Developers Fred Paige and Tom Meyers will sell the completed building to Country Comfort Retirement Homes, which operates similar facilities in Weekly Post Staff Writer
Youngsters share their catch during the frog-jumping contest at last Saturday’s FROG Fest at Dahinda United Methodist Church. Adults enjoyed the fried frog legs (below right). Photos by Jeff Lampe.
Fun with frogs in Dahinda By JEFF LAMPE
DAHINDA – First the answer to the most important question surrounding FROG Fest: No, losers in the frogjumping contest do not wind up in the grease. “All the frogs you see here go back to the pond they came Weekly Post Staff Writer
from,” said Sharon Farquer of Williamsfield, while wearing a shirt that said Don’t Croak Without Jesus. “The frog legs we fry are all frozen.” Delicious frog legs, it should be noted. Tasty fried morsels that served as the perfect complement to a fun day of frog Continued on Page 10
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