The Curse of Foreclosures in The Central Valley

According to the police, the abandoned reo houses are favourite targets for vandals and anti-socials. Just about anything is taken. Appliances are stolen, wiring and fittings are yanked off and even furnaces are not spared. Felony and stealing is nothing new to the police – after all it is the very core of their activities. But now the housing muddle has led to a whole new category of thieving – foreclosure crimes.

The foreclosure crisis has led to waves of abandoned reo properties. The occupants have been evicted and the banks do not have the infrastructure to manage their vast empire of repossessed properties. The result is that the units remain eerie and empty. The vandalism occurs in stages. First the evicted owners, just before departures vent their frustration on the house they once owned by causing as much damage as possible. Next, sneaks in the casual thief to rummage among the leftover. Close on their heels arrive drug pushers and prostitutes. Raucous parties hold the entire neighbourhood at ransom. More sophisticated looters pose as landlords and rent out the houses. After pocketing the security money and two months rent they vanish. Last but not least fire breaks out as Mother Nature walks in to colonize once more what had been taken from her. She comes with her denizens – the rodents, bats, spiders, termites, algae and malaria larvae in stagnant pools together with frogs and snakes having a ball amidst tall grasses.

While the realtors are busy listing the houses the inspecting advance staff arrives to find that air conditioners and other appliances are missing bemoans Leonard Orman of Antioch Police. Everyday such reports are piling in. The lenders, the law and the hapless community residents watch helplessly this new unmanageable trend. Lt. Brian Addington of Pittsburgh police says that his department has not come across so many incidents of burglary since the last two years. Most of the burglaries relate to theft of appliances and copper fittings. One part of the problem is that most of the disgruntled foreclosed evictees depart without bothering to lock the doors.

Realtor Jeff Chinn complained after inspection of a reo foreclosure that there were open holes in the flooring. Chinn has been assigned the task of selling 120 units. Of these marauders have broken into a dozen units and looted furnaces, fans and even the switches from electric boards. Also on the list of damaged or missing are toilet fittings, carpets and dishwashers. Built-in ovens too have been hammered out.

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