My better judgment tells me to leave this topic alone and not to say anything, but I guess my better judgment has taken a leave of absence today.

Soooooooooo.......

Foreclosure is a complicated issue for sure and with plenty of blame to hand out to all parties involved. I guess each case has to be looked at individually and blanket statements are pretty hard to make. Could I ever do what this family is doing if I were in their situation? I sure hope not, but who knows what my thought process would be like. It is very, very sad.

I would assume CA is seeing some of the same things MN is seeing with vacant houses lost to foreclosure. Chances are if this family doesn't take and sell everything, someone else will break in and do it anyway. I'm not justifying their actions by any means, but simply stating a fact. A house next door to me went through this. Thieves broke in and removed all the copper pipes including the ones carrying natural gas. The house filled with gas, the fire department & police came, my neighbors (including myself) had to evacuate because the house could have blown up at any minute. Luckily it didn't.

We're also seeing a huge issue with bank owned properties not properly winterized. Pipes freeze and break, the houses fill with water which freezes and in many cases totally destroys the house. The city ends up with yet another property to condemn and eventually tear down.

Kevin

Nick

I live in Hesperia (Fancy you were up here yesterday, you should have stopped at the airport cafe, I've heard they have alot of good food.)

The scary thing is that there are certain parts of hesperia that have at least three foreclosed houses on one street or another.

This the sad thing is, these were the same people who were buying those ridiculously raised trucks and atvs to go party at the dunes. most of these people had no sense of fiscal responsibility and because of it are loosing their homes and all that hard work they might have put into it.

It happens it comes and goes and right now, well it's gone. it'll be back though, I just hope this time people are wiser with their finances.

Too bad, I would have liked to meet you.

I'm not making excuses for the people nor blaming the bank, just describing a sad situation which is being repeated all over the country.

In the end it will play itself out and somehow we will all return to sanity. In the 'Inland Empire', Riverside, Corona etc and also in the Antelope Valley, there were news reports of 'Home Destroying Parties' were people smashed the homes beyond recognition at no financial gains. There have been foreclosures where I live but no unusual destructive activity.

Nick

The willful destruction of a home after foreclosure shows the mentality of the people involved - I did something wrong and now you must pay for my stupidity.

Kevin in KY our thieves aren't picky - they steal copper pipe from any place they can get it.

Brooke

you know, on a side note, I think that those people you were speaking of might be moving into my neighbors, house there didn't happen to be a beat up old red and white Toyota truck at that place, was there nick?

It's kind of creepy when these kind of things happen so close to where one, lives lol (nervous laughter)

You're safe, no such truck seen.

Nick

watch out for a green, 2005 GMC Canyon pickup with Massachusetts license plates

Same thing is happening here and you don't have to be moved out of the house, just leave awhile , copper pipe ect are ripped out, there is a place that is, was for sale ,it had a big mobile home on it and a large shop all the doors are gone the wiring , metal steps and anything else that was not nailed down . Rural Missouri ..

Last year I built a cold and a warm greenhouse side by side. Worked out so well that I'm going to make the entire structure the warm GH and build a separate cold GH on another area of the property. Back to Hesperia to get another swamp cooler. The town is depressed, everyone uses them to stay cool and since in Jan/Feb when no one wants them, they go cheap.

Promptly found 3 of them and drove out to get one. Chose a relatively new one for $100 from a lady whose yard looked like Sanford and Son. All kinds of equipment sitting around waiting for a buyer. I asked her where she got this stuff from and she said from cleaning up houses, whatever that means. Got no further until watering my 2 dogs brought us closer as she loves dogs.

Then it became apparent that she is in the business of cleaning up houses BEFORE the bank repossesses them. Apparently she offers the owners a lump sum of cash and then goes in just before the house changes owners (repossession) and hauls away anything of value.

A new industry has arisen out of the ashes of the foreclosure catastrophe! Long live capitalism and American enterprise.

Nick

At least here in Ohio, destroying a property right before a bank takes posession is illegal and will get you prosecuted. They would be liable for the difference between what the house will/did sell for (after the destruction) and what was still owed, I think. Just piling misery on misery. All I can say is IDIOTS!!!

Predatory lending aside, it seems to me that most of these people just don't get it as far as being able to manage their budgets.

Bob

Predatory lending, i suppose that means paying big up front commission to salesmen as well as lending money to people who do not have a hope of repaying loans.

The Real Estate investment trusts that i invested in before the GFC are all down the drain ( except the only one that did not spread wings and go to the USA).

Pretty sad really, Capitalism has failed in the home of Capitalism.

Apart from the REiTS, there was this successful company that made automatic transmissions. They decided to build a factory in the USA and went broke because the factory was never completed.

Then we have a Brewery that invested heavily in the US Wine industry. Haven't gone broke but didn't make any money either.

Finally, i have to say it is not all doom and gloom. One company that started life as a junkyard in a Sydney suburb has done rather well in the USA and is now the worlds biggest or second biggest recycling company and that ties in with Nick's post.