Short sales effect on neighborhoods

If you think these short sales are devastating the value of your home, imagine what would happen if every short sale on your block were, instead, a foreclosure. You would have a home that stood vacant for months or longer, providing a nice cozy target for vandals, squatters and other criminals. Your city and state would be out property taxes for that time, as the banks who own these places often don’t settle the property taxes until they resell. And, in the end, the place would be sold for probably less than the short-sale price, depressing your home’s value even further.