Community spirit strong in US

Across America the public are offering their service for free in an effort to maintain foreclosure properties that have been abandoned.

City administrators in the US are organizing groups of volunteers to clean and maintain homes that have been left during the foreclosure crisis. Areas can soon become a blot on the landscape if abandoned property is left to be vandalized and will in turn lower the value of other property in the area.

The time between an owner leaving a distressed property and a bank taking over can be as long as twelve months and in that time neglect can really affect the resale value. Volunteers are being drafted in to cut grass, mend fences and board windows to secure the against vandalism.

More than 30 cities across America have issued directives forcing banks and other real estate owners to preserve property to a standard that is acceptable for resale or face heavy fines.