City Council Considers Foreclosing on Zombie Homes

They sit, abandoned, sucking the life from the neighborhoods in which they are located.

They are called "Zombie Homes" and the Portland City Council is taking action against them.

For the time in 50 years, the city is planning to foreclose on five of theses homes - there are probably dozens around, the city is still trying to figure out an exact number.

The city believes the effect will be to get rid of squatters and help ease the city's very hot housing market.

In developing the program, Portland looked to cities like Baltimore to get a sense of what works and what doesn't.

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Portland has a housing problem that exists on several levels. With more than 1,000 people moving to the city every month, the housing market has been tightening - availability is scarce and prices are up more than ten percent over last year.

The city has also recently committed to spending $340 million on an affordable housing program.

The last time the city foreclosed on a home was 1965 - a woman who had not paid a $28 sidewalk nuisance fee.

It had been so long since there was a foreclosure that when the city started developing this new plan, the mayor was surprised to discover the city even had a foreclosure manager on staff.