Some days are a surge of excitement, for all the job opportunity I have here, and some days it is infuriating, like living next to a pre-foreclosure and hearing from renters losing their security deposits from being foreclosed on.
When I saw the Manhattan mid rises going back to the bank in January I felt like I should call a friend who rents in there but then again, she was renting from a "friend" so she was safe, right? Wrong, I got a call from her two weeks ago. She was notified by the cash for keys agent. (*&$@^&$@&*
I could go on and on with stories about doing BPO's with a fresh lease option on the books, renters paying higher than market rent, loan is in default. (vomiting in mouth) I wonder how much their option money was.
The emotions of the ones getting foreclosed on are sad (obviously!) to cavalier. You got to love :tongue in cheek of course: the cavalier who think they are entitled to squeeze more money out of the home by renting it out, taking some unsuspecting soul's money and deposits through no fault of their own and then fire selling every appliance and fixture that may be worth something.
I bought in 2002, pre-boom. I extracted a little money in 2004 to put in a pool. We still had $300K in equity AFTER that loan was taken out. Let me tell you something, it's gone now because of the cavalier attitudes and what REO property has done to our market in regards to appraisals. Am I going to go the way of the cavalier and let it go back? No! Why? Our loans are fixed and we can't even rent a comparable property for cheaper than our house payments! Am I angry or bitter that we don't have equity? No! Why? Because my husband and I bought this home as our "forever house". Our kids will be cleaning it out when we go to the nursing home or die. We didn't buy it as an intention to be an ATM or immediate investment.
So you are wondering to yourself, "why are there angry undertones to this post?" Hmmmm you can feel the vibe can you not?!?!?!
It's because of the home I am currently living next to. Mr Cavalier Investment who bought in 2005. Why do I know it was a cavalier investment? Because it was placed back on the market less than a handful of months later for $70K more than they bought it for. It wasn't selling, it wasn't selling, it wasn't selling so they placed it for rent. The rental screening wasn't all that wonderful. Tenants would come and go. The neighbors have dubbed this home "the crack house", "the whore house", "the meth house", "the dog house", etc. You get the picture. Landscaping has been non-existent since the watering stopped in 2005. Pool has been green between renters, a public health nuisance. Guess they haven't heard of west nile virus.
The last renters were great. They only had about 10 people living in the house, an unlicensed utility trailer sitting in front of my newly landscaped front yard for 8 months and a pit bull that would get out and bare his teeth to anyone who crossed their path. Animal control would pick him up, he would be back in less than the designated holding time. City code enforcement would do nothing about the trailer. We don't live in an HOA because I thought that when I bought this home that people who CAN SPEND A QUARTER OF A MILLION DOLLARS FOR A HOME CAN MONETARILY TAKE CARE OF THE UPKEEP.
So there lies my frustration my anger. It's three years of living next to neighbors who don't give a rat's behind about respecting their other neighbors, an eyesore and a public health hazard (green pool).
You can probably imagine the rush of joy & glee I felt when I got a call from an agent friend who was doing the default BPO asking questions about the neighborhood.
These vacant or deteriorating properties are taking it's toll not only on the bank's asset books, but on public & HOA resources. Not only that, but there are still some of us owner occupied living in the land of the vacant foreclosures who really do care.
To Every Mr Cavalier Investor: Please stop preying on unsuspecting renters, please stop being a burden on the HOA and our public resources (Health department & code enforcement). PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE CALL YOUR ATTORNEY and ask them what a "deed in lieu of foreclosure" is and ask if he recommends one in your situation. If your attorney does recommend it, please contact your bank instead of dragging this out. Make this short and sweet for you and make this short and sweet for us and make this short and sweet on our public resources. Let's get this property back to the bank so they can list it and sell it to (hopefully) some one that will care and love the property.
You see, this is just as painful for your neighbors as it is for you. Yes this will hurt your credit for 7 years, we have been dealing with this for 3 years already. My teenage kids and their friends see that green pool from our two story windows and they ask if I know anything about that property yet. My other neighbor goes over and covers the pool after a wind with the pool cover so we don't have to see it, until the next wind! I picked your weeds out of our side yard for two years and then decided I was DONE!
PS: I have wanted to write this for a long long time. It was extremely emotional for me to do this obviously. That BPO was done in Jan, the renters moved out in Mar and the darn thing still hasn't gone to a trustee's sale. I am only wishing and hoping for the day it is listed and someone will buy it to gently rehab and love just as much as we do (and many of our neighbors) with our own home(s).
PSS: Actual pictures so you can feel my pain.
Ouch. I remember condo days well; some were great, some were terrible (not to mention condo association meetings...).
Wow, can you imagine how bad things would have been if the people next door hadn't bought when real estate had never been a better value? Then you really would have had something to complain about.
There is irony here; I wonder if you can see it. I also wonder if you are actually surprised at what is now happening. How can anyone be surprised?
Renee,
The shakeout of the last year will result in a better neighbor at some point. Hang in there!
Mike in Tucson
Chris: Thanks for the perspective, I really appreciate that! Forever feels like it is almost over!
Cindy: That is what I am hoping :)
Jennifer: Good luck to you too!
June: I am expecting it too!
Susie: I can live next to this before I live in an HOA :)
Kris: I feel for those that really need to sell now!
Rosario: meee tooooo meee tooooo!
Larry: Well I have the garage full of junk but that's only because I come from a midwest mindset and don't have a basement here :)
James: Yes, we had the cops ordeal the second renter that took over the property. I am over it!
Patricia: I wish it were frogs. It would be better than the roaches that like to hang out near there!
John S: How did I know you were going to
trollstop by? I don't think I encouraged anyone to commit mortgage fraud or buy and flip in the article, did I? Could you quote that? As I have mentioned before, last year, when that was written, we still had lax lending standards. That means to get into a home stated, with 100% financing while we saw the beginning of values drop made it a different time. A time when many more could get homes, have more control over their housing destiny, than they do now. Do you NOT read my articles about the rental market with prices going up and absorption low and renters losing lots of money when a house they are renting gets foreclosed on?Mike: I am hangin, I am hangin :)
Renae...that green pool with a barely-there cover is like a 400 pound man in a speedo. It just doesn't hide what it's supposed to hide.
I'm glad you posted this and I'm glad that you injected the emotion you did. The people in Vegas (and Hemet, and Poinciana and....) need to hear about the DIL, need to know what a pain it is.
A house on my street has knee-high grass, and I'm just too busy with my own world to mow it for the 'whoever' it belongs to.
I wish you new neighbors...a nice young family with a handy dad is going to buy that home and love it back to health.
Renee -- I wish you well. What a difficult situation to be in. It must be terrible if the teenagers have taken notice.
That's really bad when it is right next door to you. When it hits the REO market, hopefully you can then pick your own neighbor! It sounds like it will go cheap as with no upkeep in so long, you might want to start working on finding a buyer for it, someone you want to live next too.
This story is so common around Arizona and Nevada. It is always unfortunate when a good neighborhood is affected by Foreclosure. Hopefully a good family buys the house and cleans it up!