J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. said it sold 47 defaulted home-mortgage loans to a New Jersey nonprofit group that seeks to find new owners and alleviate neighborhood blight.

Across the country, other community groups also are exploring how to buy foreclosed homes to prevent them from turning into eyesores or havens for crime. Many lenders, in turn, are eager to unload foreclosed homes, particularly those in poor neighborhoods.

Housing...