Following Sen. Brown Request, New Report Examines How Bank Foreclosure Practices Exacerbate Neighborhood Blight

WASHINGTON, DC – November 15, 2010 – (RealEstateRama) — Today, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report requested by U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown, Chairman of the Economic Policy Subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, on the practice of “abandoned foreclosures,” also commonly referred to as “bank walkaways.” This is the practice whereby banks decline to take possession of properties after initiating the foreclosure process, most often because the costs — from legal fees to maintenance — exceed the value of the real estate