Lingering Questions About New York Times "Housing Crisis" Article

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So, yeah, the article actually came out on August 26, 2008, but I only just yesterday got around to reading it. Hey, I like to read my "flesh of dead trees based media" near a recycle bin and a sink to wash my hands.

The article, which bears the somewhat misleading title "Responding To A Housing Crisis," is actually about local governments responding to a VACANT house crisis...

...and not a "housing crisis" like "people are unable to get housing." Yeah, that might happen...but that's NOT what the article was about.

In any case, the article discusses local government entities--Boston, Minneapolis, San Diego, and Genesee County in Michigan--buying up vacant properties in hopes of kick-starting re-occupancy and neighborhood revitalization.

The article contains this statement, which raises a bunch of questions:

"In Minneapolis, some homes in the lower-income north side of the city have been vacant for up to five years. The Greater Metropolitan Housing Corporation has trouble locating officials at mortgage companies who have the authority to sell the properties, said Carolyn E. Olson, president of the group.

(Paragraph break not in the original)

"The effort, which is financed by the city of Minneapolis and the state housing agency, is similar to Boston's approach.

"Still, it has bought 75 homes in an area that had 1,500 foreclosures last year and has about 500 vacant homes; it hopes to do more with the federal grants. Ms. Olson said the group would have to buy and improve only a fraction of the vacant houses, and the market would do the rest..."

So! Here are my "lingering questions."

1.) Is Minneapolis being cited as an example of a common problem: homes vacant for five years where it is hard to locate the officials at the mortgage companies with the authority to sell the vacant homes? Or is this particular issue somehow unique to Minneapolis?

I thought Detroit had a similar problem or, indeed, an even BIGGER problem with many houses that have been vacant many years. So that would lead me to think Minneapolis is merely cited as an EXAMPLE.

2.) Let us suppose, hypothetically, the "trouble locating officials with authority" issue is somehow unique to Minneapolis...or that Minneapolis is, for some reason, whining and complaining about this issue more than the other places.

Well, why is that?

Now I'm going to speculate: It's because people from Minnesota are too nice. Yes, when faced with the bureaucratic roadblock of "nobody with authority," the officials from Minnesota just curl their lips and go away, quietly, seething.

The Minnesota Nice personality is, for the most part, not psychologically capable of becoming red in the face and screaming into the phone: LISTEN HERE, YOU ASSISTANT WHATEVER THE (EXPLETIVE) YOU ARE!!! YOU GET ME SOMEBODY WITH THE AUTHORITY TO NAME A PRICE AND ENTER INTO NEGOTIATIONS FOR THIS PIECE OF (EXPLETIVE) HOUSE OR, I SWEAR TO (REDACTED), MY OFFICE WILL SUE (here, insert name of the mortgage company) FOR PREDATORY LENDING JUST LIKE THOSE FOLKS IN THE HAWTHORNE NEIGHBORHOOD SUED CITIMORTGAGE. YOU GOT IT!!!!?

I WANT A NAME IN AND PHONE NUMBER IN 72 HOURS OR YOUR COMPANY IS GETTING SUED BY THIS AGENCY, AND THE LAWSUIT WILL BE PROMINENTLY MENTIONING YOUR LACK OF COOPERATION IN PUTTING ME IN TOUCH WITH ANYBODY WITH A SHRED OF AUTHORITY WHO CAN--FOR THE LOVE OF (REDACTED)--SELL ONE MOTHER (EXPLETIVE) HOUSE THAT DOESN'T HAVE ENOUGH (EXPLETIVE) COPPER PIPE LEFT TO MAKE A (EXPLETIVE) ROLL OF PENNIES!!!!!!

Addendum: Over the weekend, my kid and I stayed at Jeff Skrenes' apartment and I asked Jeff about the article. Here's what Jeff told me, in a nutshell.

1.) The problem of finding somebody with the authority to sell a vacant, foreclosed house is not unique to Minneapolis in any way, nor does it have anything to do with Minnesotans being "too nice" when given the runaround. The article was probably citing an example and a quote from somebody who could speak well to the issue. HOWEVER--

2.) Suing mortgage companies is sometimes the only way to get their attention, and that's exactly what he's been saying at various conferences and seminars.