Two More Cities Consider Seizing Mortgages

Sacramento and Elk Grove join the ranks of municipalities considering using eminent domain to grab delinquent home loans

The cities of Sacramento and Elk Grove are the latest municipalities to consider a plan that would seize troubled mortgages using eminent domain and restructure them for homeowners, according to a news report.

The plan would adopt a program already under consideration in Southern California that would use private funds to acquire underwater mortgages—those where the homes wouldn't sell for enough money to pay off the loans. Under the proposal, the condemned loans would be restructured, lowering the amount owed, with the intent of helping the owner keep the property.