Foreclosures becoming unsaleable junkers

$800 Detroit "home." C'mon in.

With foreclosures amounting to 50 percent of the inventories in many locations, by some estimates, a third of them have become the targets of squatters, vandals, gangs, thieves and even disgruntled homeowners who wreak havoc on the properties.

by Broderick Perkins
© 2008 DeadlineNews.Com


Unauthorized use of this story is a copyright violation -- a federal crime

Deadline Newsroom - Forget the unknown number of foreclosed homes poised to come to market.

In Nashau, NH there are only 29 foreclosed homes in town, but most of them aren't available for sale.

On Realtor.com more than 100 homes were found in Detroit priced from $500 to $1,000.

In both cases the homes are either off the market or in such deplorable condition they likely won't sell except to a scratchy investor or handy person -- if they can get a mortgage.

With foreclosures amounting to 50 percent of the inventories in many locations and mortgage money tough to come by, the homes sit vacant, boarded up and run down.

By some estimates, a third of all of the foreclosed properties nationwide have become the targets of squatters, vandals, gangs, thieves and even disgruntled homeowners who wreak havoc on the properties.

And apparently Washington hasn't taken up this cause just yet.

According to surveys by Campbell Communications in Washington DC, real estate agents say distressed foreclosed homes comprise a larger share of the market than most are aware.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Mortgage Bankers Association says there are many unsaleable properties but typically incidental to a few select regions. They also said the reports of the unsaleable properties are largely "anecdotal."

"Anecdotal," and "incidental" is what building officials once said about new home defects.

© 2008 DeadlineNews.Com

Need a break from doom and gloom in the housing market? Get off the beaten news track and stop by the DeadlineNews Group's Offbeat News Examiner outlet for a few laughs.

Advertise on DeadlineNews.Com

Shop DeadlineNews.Com

Get news that really hits home for your Web site or blog from DeadlineNews.Com.

Broderick Perkins, an award-winning consumer journalist, parlayed 30 years of old-school journalism into a digital real estate news service, the San Jose, CA-based DeadlineNews Group, including DeadlineNews.Com, a real estate news and consulting service and Web site, and the Deadline Newsroom, DeadlineNews.Com's news back shop. Perkins is also a National Real Estate Examiner. All the news that really hits home from three locations -- that's location, location, location!

---

DeadlineNews.Com's Editorial Content Is Intellectual Property • Unauthorized Use Is A Federal Crime