Posted on 02/04/2009 8:50:28 AM PST by LibWhacker
Some owners of foreclosed homes are stealing appliances and leaving the houses damaged and in disarray, MyFOXOrlando.com reported.
Realtors complain the trashed houses are harder to sell.
Homeowners upset at banks that are forcing them out have been hauling items from their houses and selling them, the station said. They're also damaging walls and floors.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
This is nothing unusual. A number of mortgage companies have partnered with non-profits to allow homeless people to stay in their foreclosed properties until they can sell them. Just wait until they see the damage left by the squatters once they try to kick them out.
Being in real estate, this is why I never ever broker repos....yes there are some deals but many are simply trashed properties....that require more repair dollars than the discounted price of the repo.
They have nothing to lose when the house loses value - the bank is the loser. Lots of people never invested a dime in the house - no money down on loans. They lived there for several months or longer, never making a payment and waited for the bank to force them out. What did they have to lose? They had a free place to live!
Well now how would this work. When I bought my house there was a piece of crap stove in it, I couldn’t even sell it on craigslist. I replaced it with a top of the line beautiful stove. If I move I swear the new stove comes with me!! I will put in another piece of crap. Obviously telling the buyers the stove comes with me. Does the mortgage company own my stove??
Yes back in the 80’s I would meet the sheriff at these places and a locksmith. The former owners or renters, rip out all the wire too and in some instances, rig shotguns to go off when you open the door. I never saw so many frightened locksmiths in my life, lol
“Why can they not be charged with vandalism?”
Because they can say that they did the damage prior to the foreclosure. They are still the owner of record up and until the foreclosure paperwork is recorded.
You can't be prosecuted for damaging something you own. The bank doesn't own the home, they own the mortgage - with the home as collateral. The home doesn't become the property of the bank until the judge in the foreclosure proceeding says they are the owners. So, by law, the people can't be prosecuted for destroying their own property.
As an aside, this foreclosure mess is a untended consequence of deregulation. Back in the day, these banks would have been much more willing and able to send the mortgage through a loan work-out procedure. But, with the "securitization" of the mortgage business, there is no relationship between the home owner and the "paper holder".
We should go back to the days where the loan is originated locally and managed and owned locally. The result would probably be fewer mortgages, but they would be much, much more financially sound mortgages - only given to people that can afford them.
Bankruptcy and foreclosure are just another of the "old fashioned" taboos that have gone by the wayside.
I would think I own mine. I bought them at Best Buy last year.
Yep...I used to clean out abandoned VA and HUD homes for realtors as a weekend job to earn extra money when I was raising my kids, this is absolutely nothing new.
Moveable items like washers, dryers, refrigerators and freezers, yes. Attached items like ranges, dishwashers, light fixtures, thermostats, central AC units, garage door openers, no.
One house I just put into contract had all of the above removed, as well as a gas fireplace (left a big hole in the family room wall).
Not if the mortgage company is paid in full with the sale.
What did they expect...that these folks would have the house cleaned top to bottom for the bank to re-sell?
Sheeeeeesh!
“Americans didn’t used to be this way.”
####
I don’t consider these Americans. Or even human.
Just savages. With an attitude.
Thanks, as you say, to the weak, coddling liberal mentality.
Virtually EVERY property shown (we were looking at foreclosures only) was damaged. Light fixtures, kitchen cabinets, any and all appliances ripped out of walls. It seems for the last 3-6 months the former occupants lived there, their level of frustration and hate was taken out on the banks via trashing the property.
There is a silver lining though. Most of the damage is cosmetic, and appliances are really cheap on craigs, (probably the same ones taken out, lol).
Figure the cost of renovation and appliances, double it, (for labor) and subtract from the already low price. Many banks agree on the offer rather quickly.
We got a pretty good deal on our purchase. PITI is less than the going rate for rentals in the area.
It’s not a bad thing to have nice things. I want to have nice things, but that doesn’t mean I can afford to have them! I live within my means and try to better my situation so I can AFFORD to have the things that I want. That’s the only thing I can do.
All because you “want” something doesn’t mean you are entitled to it.
Still child’s play.We’ve had people here turn off the heat,open the windows and let the tub run over.Ice builds up until the floor collapses into the basement.
Look at who these homes were being “sold” to. I guarantee they would have left a rented apartment in the same condition. They probably didn’t trash it when they left. Truth be known, that’s what they were living in.
I’m surprised they weren’t yanking out the plumbing and wiring to sell the copper.
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