Vacant houses attract crime and make it more difficult for neighbors to purchase homeowners insurance. Dan Immergluck of Georgia Tech and Woodstock Institute researcher Geoff Smith, an increase in the foreclosure rate to about 2.8 foreclosures for every 100 owner-occupied properties in one year corresponds to an increase in neighborhood violent crime of approximately 6.7 percent. Vacant properties can be attractive to vagrants, gangs, and drug users, providing a breeding ground for criminal activity. However, with determination and organization, citizens can fight back and eliminate crime in their neighborhoods. Realtors now carry pepper spray and are taking self defense lessons...