Las Vegas REALTORS® Stop Plan to Use Eminent Domain to Capitalize on Plight of Homeowners with Underwater Mortgages

The City Council of North Las Vegas had nearly been seduced by a private firm into using its power of eminent domain to capitalize on the plight of homeowners with underwater mortgages.  The dubious plan involved convincing municipalities like North Las Vegas that had been hit especially hard by the housing crisis to foreclose on houses and then sell them back to the original owners at a devalued price. Calling the plan penny-wise-pound-foolish — the 11,000-member Greater Las Vegas Association of REALTORS^® (GLVAR) went to work with an Issues Mobilization Grant from NAR and funds of their own to convince voters and the city council that this was a bad idea.  They won.  The council members reversed their decision and rejected the plan.

• Read how GLVAR stopped a scheme to use eminent domain on underwater mortgages (530K PDF)