Managing the property, the neighborhood around you

The arguments laid out in this MSNBC piece, "Foreclosure nearby? It's your problem: Think the foreclosure crisis isn't your worry? Think again. If your neighbors lose their houses, you can expect more broken windows, drugs and crime," about how living in an area with high foreclosures can have negative impact on your own property, are the same basic arguments that support building regulations generally, and historic preservation laws specifically.

The justification is based on the reality that what other nearby property owners do or don't do can impact your own property values (a/k/a "community safety" "community health and welfare"). Because it appears that too often, property owners make bad decisions, these preferences for community-minded behavior have become laws that (if enforced) regulate behavior more specifically and at times, punatively.

A foreclosure sign is seen on the lawn of a home in Egg Harbor Township, N.J., in this March 15, 2008 file photo.(AP Photo/Mel Evans, file)