Bank of America, Wells Fargo and others donate foreclosed homes to charity 
When mediation, short sale, foreclosure and all other property-saving options are exhausted, big banks such as Bank of America (BofA) and Wells Fargo are donating select — typically “low value” — distressed real estate assets to local charities. BofA donated 150 homes throughout the United States in 2011 and plans to up that amount to [...]
When mediation, short sale, foreclosure and all other property-saving options are exhausted, big banks such as Bank of America (BofA) and Wells Fargo are donating select — typically “low value” — distressed real estate assets to local charities.
BofA donated 150 homes throughout the United States in 2011 and plans to up that amount to more than 1,200 in 2012. Wells Fargo, meanwhile. topped 1,120 donated homes last year, which is 295 more than it did in 2010.
Most of these homes are either refurbished, resold or demolished “to rid neighborhoods of blight,” helping the communities in which they are located recover from the housing downturn faster. On the flip side, banks rid themselves of maintaining homes they can’t sell, which, naturally, saves them money over time. Even underwater homeowners who can’t sell their properties are literally giving them away in exchange for tax deductions.
According to the GreenBayPressGazette.com, Habitat for Humanity — a nonprofit housing organization that builds simple, decent, affordable housing in partnership with people in need – renovated and sold 1,210 donated homes that it received from June 2010 to June 2011.
It’s a “win, win, win” decision, according to a BofA official mentioned in the report, which benefits the neighborhood, bank and investor.
