Governments have long used eminent domain to seize private property for projects in the "common good" -- often to the dismay of the owners. But now, two California cities want to use it to help get besieged homeowners out of their underwater mortgages.
In some parts of the U.S., the real estate market remains deep in recession. But even with housing prices sitting at multi-year lows, millions of houses remain empty, unable to attract buyers haunted by unemployment and a weak economy. As part of a new series, DailyFinance takes a look at one town near New York City that is still struggling with the effects of the great real estate bust.
