If the government — that means you and me — takes over all the mortgages of all the homes and businesses that are in foreclosure, it will have a huge maintenance problem on its hands. According to the latest figures I have seen, there are 2.9 million foreclosed homes sitting empty.

While visiting my daughter in Florida, I saw dozens of these homes in every neighborhood. Some owned by local banks are being maintained. The grass is being mowed, the air-conditioning is on, and the pool filters are running. But many are not.

The majority of those homes are owned by out-of-state and overseas investment companies. The results are obvious: mold forming in houses locked up without the air-conditioning on, embarrassingly ugly lawns left unmowed, pools turning green, and early-onset insect infestation. This, of course, drives down the value of other homes in the neighborhood.

Empty homes in northern regions may require at least a minimum amount of heat to protect the plumbing. Also, there is the little problem of vandalism of empty homes.

Oh, have I mentioned property taxes? How much will it cost us, the government, to pay the property taxes on three million or four million houses?

The federal government may have to establish a Federal Bureau of Empty Homes Management.

WILLIAM A. MONEZ

Johnston