Journal-News.com

FAIRFIELD — Fairfield is taking care of about twice as many homes in 2008 as it was two years ago.

Building and Zoning Superintendent Rick Helsinger said the city is maintaining 103 homes this year that have been vacated, compared to 50 to 60 homes in 2006.

"People are just walking away from them," Helsinger said.

Exactly how many of these vacated homes are foreclosed homes is something the city is trying to learn.

Helsinger said his department is compiling a home foreclosure list, which was started in May, to keep track of homes that have been foreclosed and are in the process of being foreclosed.

So far, Helsinger said there are about 30 cases in the new database.

"We're trying to come across these properties before it becomes a property maintenance nightmare," Helsinger said.

City staff cross-references the Butler County Clerk of Courts foreclosure list to find Fairfield homes in the foreclosure process. What can be learned is still up in the air, Helsinger said.

"We'll give council an update in the next couple of months, and hope to make an intelligent decision on where to go," he said.

Ohio had the ninth-highest foreclosure rate in the nation in May, according to RealtyTrac.com, a foreclosure research firm.

It reported that in May, one in every 410 households filed for foreclosure. Nationally, it was one in every 483 households.

Last week, Councilmen Tim Meyers and Tim Abbott announced a plan to address property maintenance issues. The councilmen said they want to be aggressive in heading off issues often associated with foreclosures, such as crime and blight.

"Data and past experience show there is a high number of property maintenance issues with homes in foreclosures," Abbott said.