Abandoned Property

One thing you see a lot of if you take a road trip through California, Oregon and Idaho (and probably other places as well) is apparently abandoned property. There are deserted and broken down houses everywhere. It's so curious to me -- who up and leaves their property to rot? Living in an area and a socioeconomic category where owning a house is so deeply valued (even when it makes no sense), it's amazing to see a house abandoned, falling down from years of neglect. There must be some deep psychological meaning behind my attraction to abandoned property, but it really fascinates me.