You’ve seen the “For Sale” sign lingering in front of a neighborhood house longer than those signs once did. But did you notice the darkened house where no one seems ever to be around? Or the duplex down the street that’s not kept up the way it used to be?

What’s the story on these properties? If you’re like a lot of your Dane County neighbors, you’re not sure. But if the properties were foreclosed on, they could be costing you.

One way foreclosures hurt neighborhoods is by pulling down the value of nearby properties. But they also contribute to a less tangible sense of neighborhood decay, as foreclosed properties sometimes fall into disrepair during the long legal process or stand vacant afterward, inviting vandalism or more serious crime.

“It’s sad when a family loses its house and then once it’s foreclosed, if it is sitting there it has a tendency to drag down the values of surrounding properties,” says Bill Clingan, director of the city of Madison’s Division of Community Development. “When the property is vacant, there’s concern about what it says about the neighborhood.”

Foreclosures can hurt neighborhoods, but their incidence often remains under the radar of city officials — and even of neighbors — until vacant properties begin to attract attention.