More on mortgage prohibitions in oil and gas communities

We've blogged before on homeowners being unable to sell their homes near oil and gas facilities, particularly when there are industrial operations on their property or next door, but increasingly even when there is no development yet. In a recent comment on the website of an Ohio newspaper, a bank employee writes that his/her bank will not approve any mortgages for residences or properties within a radius of 16,000 feet of a "Hydraulic Fracturing site." The writer comments: "These properties are considered 'Brownfields' ... basically sites designated as contaminated or high probability contamination sites which resale or redevelopment is nearly impossible because of their uncertain liability and the inability of any cleanup. Banks consider these properties high risk with little value."