California town uses eminent domain to negotiate fair home prices

More than half of Richmond, California’s homeowners have homes that are underwater, meaning their mortgages are greater than the value of their homes.

This was one of the many impacts of the 2008 financial crisis that blew the real estate bubble and decimated real estate values. Not waiting for the federal government to fix the issue, Richmond started their own fix: using eminent domain to purchase the homes and then negotiate with banks.

About Carmen Munir Russell-Sluchansky 360 Articles
Carmen is a multimedia journalist based in Washington, DC whose work has appeared in a variety of outlets including National Geographic, NBC News, the BBC, Asia! Magazine, The China Post, Chicago Tribune and Orlando Sentinel.