By Gary Nelson | The Arizona Republic
Four years after CNN tagged Mesa as a national “poster child for foreclosure,” the crisis has abated, but Mesa is still looking for ways to combat foreclosure-related neighborhood blight.
Staffers received permission last week from a City Council committee to pursue hiring a company that would develop a “foreclosure registry” for the city.
The idea isn’t new to Mesa, and Phoenix has been looking into it, too. Mesa thought about developing a registry three years ago but backed away because at the time most of the work would have fallen on city staffers.
Since then, private companies have developed expertise in tracking properties whose owners are behind on payments or heading into foreclosure. Mesa would have access to their databases and thus have a better grip on whom to contact with regard to maintenance problems.
