AHN - Arson Incidents In The U.S. On Foreclosed Homes Up

Vittorio Hernandez - AHN News Writer Washington, D.C. (AHN) - There is a link between the high foreclosure rates in some states and the rash of arson incidents involving foreclosed homes, officials say. According to fire safety officials in Nevada, Massachusetts and Ohio, the seven-decade rise in the number of mortgage defaults is connected to the spate of blazes which destroyed the empty homes. In 2006, when the median price of a U.S. home peaked to $221,900 based on data from the National Association of Realtors, 31,000 arson cases were recorded the same year by the U.S. Fire Administration. In Ohio, fires that razed vacant units rose by 18 percent in 2006, at about the same time that one in 161 households got a foreclosure notice during the first quarter. James Quiggle, spokesman of the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud,... [read full story]