Here’s an assignment: In your town or community, conduct an informal count of how many homes are vacant. We’re not referring to commercial units — only residential units.
Don’t count the ramshackle homes that have gone to seed. Don’t count the homes you know are short-term rentals that are occupied during summer weeks by vacationers. Don’t count the houses that are listed for sale. And don’t look in windows, trespass on property, or do anything creepy.
Just notice and count the number of unoccupied, livable homes. In some towns and communities, it is a startling number.
We understand some of the explanation — an owner died or a foreclosure happened. There is sometimes a short-term churn between outgoing and incoming tenants.
But some homes, inexplicably, remain vacant for years. Certainly this is the right of the owner. However, the vacancy of these otherwise-livable and useful homes causes a community strain.
Think of the workers with good-paying jobs — teachers, police officers, nurses, and so many more — who have such a difficult time finding a place to rent locally. Think of how many more housing units available for purchase that the Eastern Shore needs.
There are all sorts of hazards with leaving a home vacant — deferred maintenance, pest hazards, mold growth, even the threat of vandalism. During tight financial times, it is remarkable to consider people pay real-estate taxes, year after year, on unoccupied homes they own.
Here’s another assignment: Let’s encourage owners of vacant homes to get them occupied again. It will make a difference in many ways.
