Homeowners offer houses to charities instead of cash

Since the collapse of the real-estate market, charities and nonprofits say there has been a trend toward property owners wanting to donate houses.

They say people are feeling the financial burden of paying taxes, insurance and maintenance on houses that won't sell -- and continue to drop in value. When they donate the house, the charity benefits from proceeds from its eventual sale and the donor gets a tax deduction.

But there's been a downside in metro Detroit.

Charities say they've been so flooded with offers to donate houses that they've been forced to adopt strict guidelines for what they'll take.

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