I deal with this sort of thing and the stuff I have witnessed and seen...
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Foreclosure's Filthy Aftermath
by Maya Roney



As foreclosures become more frequent, so do the bizarre and shocking stories of abandoned animals, insect infestations, and deplorable living conditions

The mortgage mess is getting even messier. Literally.

Malnourished and flea-ridden animals, feces-covered floors and urine-soaked furniture, piles of rotting garbage, swarms of diseased mosquitoes—these are the horrors that may await the ill-fated sheriff, property inspector, Realtor, or passerby making that first visit to a deserted home.

And with foreclosure activity well above last year's levels and still on the rise in many parts of the country, nasty surprises have like these become more common. In April, there were 147,708 U.S. foreclosure filings—default notices, auction sale notices, and bank repossessions—down 1% from the previous month but still 62% higher than a year earlier, according to Irvine (Calif.)-based RealtyTrac.


States With Highest Foreclosure

State foreclosures are up 62 percent from April 2006 to April 2007.

See States With Highest Foreclosures
Top 25 Cities with Most Foreclosures
How to Avoid Foreclosure

"It's almost every day now that we see a [foreclosed] house in awful condition," says Scott Mitchell, president of National Property Inspections, a company that provides home inspections and assessments in the Las Vegas area. "We've really noticed it increasing in the last month and a half." RealtyTrac estimates that Nevada had the highest foreclosure rate in the country in April, with one filing per every 232 households. Nothing to Lose


After Foreclosure: Who Gets Left Behind?




"They know they are going to lose their house, so they have no pride of ownership anymore," Mitchell says. "They'll leave the water on so there's flooding and mold everywhere, they'll tear the chandelier or the ceiling fan out of the ceiling, kick the doors and walls in. Then the critters start taking over—ants, scorpions, and Black Widow spiders."

In and around Sacramento, Calif., mosquitoes that may carry the deadly West Nile virus are thriving in the thousands of uncared-for swimming pools on properties left vacant by slower home sales and rising foreclosures. With 30,505 foreclosure filings reported in April, California documented the largest foreclosure total in the country for the fourth month in a row, according to RealtyTrac. In Amador, El Dorado, Nevada, Placer, Sacramento, Sutter, Yolo, and Yuba counties, more than 1,500 homeowners handed their homes over to the bank in the first three months of 2007, according to DataQuick Information Systems in La Jolla, Calif.

Sometimes, frustrated homeowners get creative. A man in Eagle Creek, Ore., recently put three 200-pound pigs in his repossessed home. They quickly tore up the place, ripping away the foundation and reducing the back porch to rubble. When police found the pigs, the animals were unharmed, if a little cranky. Left for Dead

Many animals are not so lucky. Pets are often silent sufferers during the foreclosure process. Homeowners in financial straits may make them a low priority to begin with, and when foreclosure leads to eviction, they are sometimes abandoned without food or water and left to breed uncontrollably. In the month of May alone, authorities found 23 abandoned animals in a house in Lake Carmel, N.Y.; three pigs trapped in an Oregon home; 20 birds in a Lorain (Ohio) house; 24 horses on a Bixby (Okla.) property; and more than 60 cats in a home in Cincinnati. All of these properties were in foreclosure, and most of the animals were injured, infected, dehydrated, and starved nearly to death.

"There are a lot of hoarders and neglected animals and people who just don't realize how fast things can spin out of control," says animal rescue worker Gail Silver, who discovered the foreclosed home in Cincinnati with more than 60 cats trapped inside.


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On May 1, Silver was on her usual bike ride along the river when she decided, suddenly, to turn down a road she hadn't been down in two years. "Something said I should go down this street," she remembers. On the street was a house with a bunch of cats sitting on the porch. "They did not look good," Silver recalls. Neighbors told her the owner had been evicted two weeks earlier and the local chapter of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) was scheduled to come the next day to take the cats away and euthanize them. Silver decided to look inside the home.

"When I saw what was in that house, I was sick to my stomach," she says. "They were everywhere…tiny little babies that weren't even weaned yet, with bulging eyes. The house was filthy, you could smell the disease. I had to wear a mask in there, it was so toxic." A Bigger Burden

Local rescues got involved, bargaining with the SPCA and the bank for more time to round up the cats and kittens. The house was scheduled to be cleared out completely in a week, on May 8, but Fannie Mae (FNM), the government-backed home mortgage giant, intervened and extended the date to May 25. "They had to. It would have created an overpopulation of animals that the community would have been dealing with for years and years," Silver notes.

A national organization, United Animal Nations, provided a grant to assist with emergency medical expenses for the sickest cats. The Cincinnati SPCA donated $1,000. Eventually, the team was able to remove all of the animals. Six cats have died, others are living in shelters and foster homes, but the organizations still need more money and help.


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Foreclosure activity in Ohio surged in April, up 39% from March and up 135% from April, 2006, pushing the state's total to the third-largest in the nation. That's 11,431 filings, or one filing for every 418 households—1.9 times the national average of one filing for every 783 households. For the thousands of Ohioans and others struggling to find money for food and shelter, pet care is often the last thing on their minds. "They spiral down and financially and in their personal life, everything just falls apart for them," says Anita Barron with Pet Alliance, the rescue group taking care of administrative work for Cincinnati's "Foreclosure Cats." Resources for Pet Owners

If you're facing foreclosure and are unable to care for your animals, call a shelter like Best Friends Animal Society. But spaying or neutering your pets is the simplest way to avoid having too many animals, even if money is tight. It will save you money in the long term: A female cat can have a litter of as many as seven kittens up to three times a year—that's a lot of extra cat food. Spay/USA is a nationwide network and referral service for affordable spay and neuter services with a hotline (1-800-248-SPAY). Surgery at one of the clinics in the network averages $50, about half of the average cost in a vet's office.

"So many problems are very complex; this is a simple problem," says Spay/USA founder Esther Mechler. "And it's scary to think that with rising foreclosures, these animals will be some of the hidden victims."

I`d like to get a foreclosure. How and whom do you approach about get started?

useless without pics!!

Quoted: I`d like to get a foreclosure. How and whom do you approach about get started?

check the legal section of your local newspaper. or, do what I do and just drive around

Call your local title or escrow company and ask for a list.

Look for a private data supplier that can give you the information (a national provider is a company called foreclosurers.com.)

There is an entire industry with very large amounts of capital looking for this stuff.  The level of competition, sophistication and yes, even corruption, in the foreclosure investing industry is very high at the current moment.

Quoted: Of course--the whole cause of the foreclosures is the issuing of mortgages to trashy people who weren't qualified to begin with.  Now there is (probably feigned) shock over the trashy condition they abandon the houses in once they are <finally> forced out--after not making payments for an extended period of time??  No surprise here.

I deal in this trade.

A large percentage of the thrashed properties are out of town investors who bought blocks of houses and then rented them out to rodents who totally destroyed the houses after deciding to not pay rent. The investos get desperate and will rent it out to anyone with a heartbeat.

I have seen 1 yr old houses with 10 kids, and multiple adults just absolutely destroy it within 2 months.

It is a travesty.

It is out of control.

Quoted: I`d like to get a foreclosure. How and whom do you approach about get started?

I can help you with the cats.

Quoted: Of course--the whole cause of the foreclosures is the issuing of mortgages to trashy people who weren't qualified to begin with.  Now there is (probably feigned) shock over the trashy condition they abandon the houses in once they are <finally> forced out--after not making payments for an extended period of time??  No surprise here.

Spot on bk.

These folks should have renters from the get go.
Slick talking lenders and stupid buyers is a recipe for failure.
Cause and effect, an earthly principle.

Quoted: Of course--the whole cause of the foreclosures is the issuing of mortgages to trashy people who weren't qualified to begin with.  Now there is (probably feigned) shock over the trashy condition they abandon the houses in once they are <finally> forced out--after not making payments for an extended period of time??  No surprise here.

Bet a shiny penny they left their apartments in the exact same condition.

There are now a bunch of foreclosure web site out there, but I hear there aren't many great deals

Quoted: Quoted: Of course--the whole cause of the foreclosures is the issuing of mortgages to trashy people who weren't qualified to begin with.  Now there is (probably feigned) shock over the trashy condition they abandon the houses in once they are <finally> forced out--after not making payments for an extended period of time??  No surprise here.   Bet a shiny penny they left their apartments in the exact same condition. There are now a bunch of foreclosure web site out there, but I hear there aren't many great deals

majority of the destruction I have witnessed were from investor bought homes who rented them out in desperation. they were rentals.

the dummies who got in over their heads usually leave the place habitable. really.

Quoted: Quoted: Of course--the whole cause of the foreclosures is the issuing of mortgages to trashy people who weren't qualified to begin with.  Now there is (probably feigned) shock over the trashy condition they abandon the houses in once they are <finally> forced out--after not making payments for an extended period of time??  No surprise here.   Spot on bk. These folks should have renters from the get go. Slick talking lenders and stupid buyers is a recipe for failure. Cause and effect, an earthly principle.

Wrong.  Mortgage companies did not make these people irresponsible pigs.  Mortgage companies did not drag these people in off the streets.  The problem lies with the people who did the damage and no one else.

I remember looking at one VA foreclosure where, the night before the Marshal was going to move them out, the family moved themselves... by backing their Ryder truck into the garage and then through the wall into the living room

Quoted: I`d like to get a foreclosure. How and whom do you approach about get started?

Just stop paying your mortgage and the bank will take care of the rest.

Let me get back to my office, i'll upload some pictures of what they're talking about....I specialize in foreclosures and this is wayyy too common.

Was in a house yesterday, one of the refridgerators was duct-tapped shut, i tried opening it a LITTLE , only to smell something dead...closed it and walked out.


These are all pictures from listed foreclosures in my area, i work with the banks quite often and deal with alot of foreclosure buyers. Taken alot of pics of interesting things.


Well Maintained Bathroom


Garage was full of stuff ,so much that it's overflowing into the parking spaces...the whole house was FULL of stuff like this.


Same house, but the kitchen


Lovely vacant trailer


Former owners got mad at the bank, stole the DECK off the back of the house.


Another well maintained bathroom.





Anyways, if any of you guys would like to be the owner of a foreclosure , PM me. The house that pictures  #3 and #4 is selling for $39,900 and it's a 4br 1ba , the bank is paying for some of the repairs already.

Quoted: Quoted: I`d like to get a foreclosure. How and whom do you approach about get started? Just stop paying your mortgage and the bank will take care of the rest.

I spent well over a year seriously looking at houses.

ALL of the ones that were in foreclosure were fucked up!.  


condition made no difference to sellers asking price.

Quoted: Of course--the whole cause of the foreclosures is the issuing of mortgages to trashy people who weren't qualified to begin with.  Now there is (probably feigned) shock over the trashy condition they abandon the houses in once they are <finally> forced out--after not making payments for an extended period of time??  No surprise here.

Should fate ever be put me in the unfourtinate situation of being forclosed on, you can bet the house would be ready to show the day after I leave.

Quoted: I spent well over a year seriously looking at houses. ALL of the ones that were in foreclosure were fucked up!.   condition made no difference to sellers asking price.

thats cause most can be fixed CHEAPLY.

Lots of people seem to like to wreck house/cars before they get repo'd or forclosed.

They seem to see it as striking back against the people who are taking the house back.

Renters who get evicted do the same thing. My wife and I used to do some house cleaning and saw it in person several times. One woman even thought it would be a great idea to come over and brag to us about how she stuck it to the landlord by leaving the house wrecked. She was really disappointed when we told her that Century 21 would be billing her to recoup the $500 cleanup bill.

Sorry guys, foreclosure is a real-deal but that article SUCKED!

It was half about the animals left behind, and what's with the alarmist pap like this:

In and around Sacramento, Calif., mosquitoes that may carry the deadly West Nile virus are thriving in the thousands of uncared-for swimming pools on properties left vacant by slower home sales and rising foreclosures

OH TEH NOES!!11 Mosquitos MAY bite you and they MAY have West Nile! All because of foreclosures!

Quoted: Quoted: Of course--the whole cause of the foreclosures is the issuing of mortgages to trashy people who weren't qualified to begin with.  Now there is (probably feigned) shock over the trashy condition they abandon the houses in once they are <finally> forced out--after not making payments for an extended period of time??  No surprise here.   Should fate ever be put me in the unfourtinate situation of being forclosed on, you can bet the house would be ready to show the day after I leave.

If you were in that position, you would probably have recognized it for what it was and had your place on the market well before forclosure.

You may still be unable to sell it, but at least you'd have tried.

The people who do something like this are the irresponsible types who drove themselves into the ground and don't care. They're just trying to throw in one last spiteful gesture on their way out of respectable society.

I'm always impressed with the ones who destroy cars then laugh when the repo man takes them, never quite realizing that the proceeds from the sale of the car would often have covered what they owed on it.

Quoted: Sorry guys, foreclosure is a real-deal but that article SUCKED! It was half about the animals left behind,

So?  That part really is sickening -- the animals didn't have anything to do with the foreclosures, but the vermin abandoned them to starve anyway.

Quoted: The people who do something like this are the irresponsible types who drove themselves into the ground and don't care. They're just trying to throw in one last spiteful gesture on their way out of respectable society. I'm always impressed with the ones who destroy cars then laugh when the repo man takes them, never quite realizing that the proceeds from the sale of the car would often have covered what they owed on it.

Conversely, it doesn't help that the banks deliberately dump foreclosed properties at prices that barely recoup the banks' losses (and often not even that).

Even during the Seattle real estate boom in the late 1990s, anyone who went through foreclosure wasn't going to see a dime of their downpayment returned to them.  This during a period when housing prices doubled within about four years.

Quoted: Quoted: Sorry guys, foreclosure is a real-deal but that article SUCKED! It was half about the animals left behind, So?  That part really is sickening -- the animals didn't have anything to do with the foreclosures, but the vermin abandoned them to starve anyway.

Then write an article in the PETA newsletter about the animals... don't try to couch it as an article about foreclosures when fully half of the article is about the animals!

Reeks of a liberal slant.

cats are delicous.

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Sorry guys, foreclosure is a real-deal but that article SUCKED! It was half about the animals left behind, So?  That part really is sickening -- the animals didn't have anything to do with the foreclosures, but the vermin abandoned them to starve anyway. Then write an article in the PETA newsletter about the animals... don't try to couch it as an article about foreclosures when fully half of the article is about the animals! Reeks of a liberal slant.

huh?

because some of us care about animals?

I care more about innocent animals than the savages who leave them behind.

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Sorry guys, foreclosure is a real-deal but that article SUCKED! It was half about the animals left behind, So?  That part really is sickening -- the animals didn't have anything to do with the foreclosures, but the vermin abandoned them to starve anyway. Then write an article in the PETA newsletter about the animals... don't try to couch it as an article about foreclosures when fully half of the article is about the animals! Reeks of a liberal slant. huh? because some of us care about animals? I care more about innocent animals than the savages who leave them behind.

So do I actually.

But if you're going to write a story about foreclosures, don't crap HALF of it up with animal-victim stories. Tell the story, be done with it...

I guess the journalism class I had in 1987 is quote antiquated by this time.

I came here to find out more about the messed-up houses that people leave for others to clean up, and less for the "poor baby animals!" and "ZOMG POOLS WITH AIDS MOSQUITOS" stories I got.

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Sorry guys, foreclosure is a real-deal but that article SUCKED! It was half about the animals left behind, So?  That part really is sickening -- the animals didn't have anything to do with the foreclosures, but the vermin abandoned them to starve anyway. Then write an article in the PETA newsletter about the animals... don't try to couch it as an article about foreclosures when fully half of the article is about the animals! Reeks of a liberal slant. huh? because some of us care about animals? I care more about innocent animals than the savages who leave them behind. So do I actually. But if you're going to write a story about foreclosures, don't crap HALF of it up with animal-victim stories. Tell the story, be done with it... I guess the journalism class I had in 1987 is quote antiquated by this time. I came here to find out more about the messed-up houses that people leave for others to clean up, and less for the "poor baby animals!" and "ZOMG POOLS WITH AIDS MOSQUITOS" stories I got.

well, I see it on a daily basis.

its a bloodbath out there and yes. homes with pools are infested with mosquitos who are known to carry diseases.

I recently viewed a house with a pool that cost close to 100k and it was thick green. Disgusting.

Quoted: Quoted: The people who do something like this are the irresponsible types who drove themselves into the ground and don't care. They're just trying to throw in one last spiteful gesture on their way out of respectable society. I'm always impressed with the ones who destroy cars then laugh when the repo man takes them, never quite realizing that the proceeds from the sale of the car would often have covered what they owed on it. Conversely, it doesn't help that the banks deliberately dump foreclosed properties at prices that barely recoup the banks' losses (and often not even that).

There's a huge difference between "dumping" a property vs. "taking what they can get".  These days, houses simply will not sell for what they did two years ago.  That's hardly the banks' fault.

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: The people who do something like this are the irresponsible types who drove themselves into the ground and don't care. They're just trying to throw in one last spiteful gesture on their way out of respectable society. I'm always impressed with the ones who destroy cars then laugh when the repo man takes them, never quite realizing that the proceeds from the sale of the car would often have covered what they owed on it. Conversely, it doesn't help that the banks deliberately dump foreclosed properties at prices that barely recoup the banks' losses (and often not even that). There's a huge difference between "dumping" a property vs. "taking what they can get".  These days, houses simply will not sell for what they did two years ago.  That's hardly the banks' fault.

I notice that you edited out all the parts of my post which mentioned that this was going on even during boom times in the housing market.

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: The people who do something like this are the irresponsible types who drove themselves into the ground and don't care. They're just trying to throw in one last spiteful gesture on their way out of respectable society. I'm always impressed with the ones who destroy cars then laugh when the repo man takes them, never quite realizing that the proceeds from the sale of the car would often have covered what they owed on it. Conversely, it doesn't help that the banks deliberately dump foreclosed properties at prices that barely recoup the banks' losses (and often not even that). There's a huge difference between "dumping" a property vs. "taking what they can get".  These days, houses simply will not sell for what they did two years ago.  That's hardly the banks' fault. I notice that you edited out all the parts of my post which mentioned that this was going on even during boom times in the housing market.

Isn't the bank's goal to get their money back as quickly as possible?

Selling at a higher price may take longer, and the bank's priority is not going to be getting top dollar for it so that the former owner can recoup as much money as possible.

I'd imagine that most lenders take the stance that if you wanted to recoup your money, you should have sold the house before it was forclosed.

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: The people who do something like this are the irresponsible types who drove themselves into the ground and don't care. They're just trying to throw in one last spiteful gesture on their way out of respectable society. I'm always impressed with the ones who destroy cars then laugh when the repo man takes them, never quite realizing that the proceeds from the sale of the car would often have covered what they owed on it. Conversely, it doesn't help that the banks deliberately dump foreclosed properties at prices that barely recoup the banks' losses (and often not even that). There's a huge difference between "dumping" a property vs. "taking what they can get".  These days, houses simply will not sell for what they did two years ago.  That's hardly the banks' fault. I notice that you edited out all the parts of my post which mentioned that this was going on even during boom times in the housing market. Isn't the bank's goal to get their money back as quickly as possible? Selling at a higher price may take longer, and the bank's priority is not going to be getting top dollar for it so that the former owner can recoup as much money as possible. I'd imagine that most lenders take the stance that if you wanted to recoup your money, you should have sold the house before it was forclosed.

That's about what I thought when I read it. Doesn't a foreclosure take at least several months between when you write the last mortgage check and when LEOs actually force you out of the house? I would think that anyone being foreclosed upon had ample opportunity to realize that they were in over their heads and sell the place for as much as they could get. If they choose to wait until a foreclosure actually goes through, they've lost the option of deciding how to sell the house, and I don't have much sympathy if the bank chooses to get rid of it fast and cheap. Consider it a lesson in why it's a good idea to show responsibility, just like the people who trash the house and then get charged for the cost of cleaning it up.

I paid the ransom fee just so I wouldn't have to rent to section 8 people, I am really really glad I did.

BS, these are are lived in exactly as they find them. How they are when the person moves out is the way these people live.

Been in too many of them to believe otherwise.

I hate to see good meat go to waste.  Cats are delicous.

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Sorry guys, foreclosure is a real-deal but that article SUCKED! It was half about the animals left behind, So?  That part really is sickening -- the animals didn't have anything to do with the foreclosures, but the vermin abandoned them to starve anyway. Then write an article in the PETA newsletter about the animals... don't try to couch it as an article about foreclosures when fully half of the article is about the animals! Reeks of a liberal slant. Nothing to do about being liberal,it's the fact that scumbags would leave their best friend behind. Semper Fi isn't only the USMC. I hate these types with a passion,just moved a fellow trucker out of his apartment,it was totally trashed,dishes in the sink,bathroom looking just in the pics. He has a real "fuck em"attitude.

Oh I don't like these people either! Make no mistake, I think they're scum. The old "If I can't have it, neither can you" attitude. It sucks.

I made my other point about animals elsewhere in the thread.

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Sorry guys, foreclosure is a real-deal but that article SUCKED! It was half about the animals left behind, So?  That part really is sickening -- the animals didn't have anything to do with the foreclosures, but the vermin abandoned them to starve anyway. Then write an article in the PETA newsletter about the animals... don't try to couch it as an article about foreclosures when fully half of the article is about the animals! Reeks of a liberal slant. huh? because some of us care about animals? I care more about innocent animals than the savages who leave them behind.

+1 According to the animal shelter, one of my cats is from a forclosure property. The previous owners just abandoned her there, no food or water for almost a week. She was found just in time, was at the shelter for a few months, then I adopted her. Anyone who could do that to a pet is fucking sick.

Quoted: Of course--the whole cause of the foreclosures is the issuing of mortgages to trashy people who weren't qualified to begin with.  Now there is (probably feigned) shock over the trashy condition they abandon the houses in once they are <finally> forced out--after not making payments for an extended period of time??  No surprise here.

+1 ever look at apartments  right after trashy people move out

exact same shit just smaller scale

My friend does maintenance for a few large apartment buildings that cater to gov. assistance types

his stories are horrifying and disgusting

Quoted: I paid the ransom fee just so I wouldn't have to rent to section 8 people, I am really really glad I did.

How does that work?  Never heard of it, though I know about Section 8.  We have had some of that scum in our neighborhood.  Police visited there often.

Quoted: Quoted: The people who do something like this are the irresponsible types who drove themselves into the ground and don't care. They're just trying to throw in one last spiteful gesture on their way out of respectable society. I'm always impressed with the ones who destroy cars then laugh when the repo man takes them, never quite realizing that the proceeds from the sale of the car would often have covered what they owed on it. Conversely, it doesn't help that the banks deliberately dump foreclosed properties at prices that barely recoup the banks' losses (and often not even that). Even during the Seattle real estate boom in the late 1990s, anyone who went through foreclosure wasn't going to see a dime of their downpayment returned to them.  This during a period when housing prices doubled within about four years.

WTF Over ??????  

A foreclosure is not a process to try and recoup money for delinquent borrowers. The banks ambition is to recoup their position only - they are not realtors nor do they wish to sit on the property for any length of time because that costs money.

If the boom was so damn good then the borrowers should have been able to sell well under market and dump it within a matter of days and still make at least 50% on the original price.

Quoted: Quoted: I`d like to get a foreclosure. How and whom do you approach about get started? I can help you with the cats.

Thpppt!-Thpppt!