Living After Foreclosure

Fifteen to twenty thousand dollars in repairs because thieves stole $40 worth of copper? Ouch. That was a bit more than I would have guessed. Maybe a couple thousand at the most to repair a wall or some floors? Not $20,000!

Very costly repairs like this will drag down housing prices further. The extent to which they’ll be dragged down depends on the effectiveness of the deterrence of such burglaries. (I’m not saying law enforcement will just stand by, but there may only be so much they can do.) Not only will owners be selling at a loss, they will be needing to repair the losing properties just to get them up to code so they can sell them, at any price.

The threat of vandalism is an extra cost of owning an illiquid asset like real estate, and this threat becomes reality more often if the home is vacant. Further, because the house is vacant, insurance costs go up, and for some types of insurance it can’t be purchased at all, like with fire insurance. (The insurance companies know the risks better than most, of course.)

I wonder if there will be a rise in the formation of companies dedicated to protecting vacant homes from vandalism. This would likely be costly, but it could fill in where insurance and law enforcement leave off.

• Virulent foreclosure side effects Foreclosures are making people sick.  Literally.  It's possible that there is a link between the West Nile virus and foreclosed properties, particularly properties with swimming pools that become standing water once abandoned and provide a home to lots of mosquitoes. Falling property values in neighborhoods with abandoned houses makes sense. ......
• Big jump in foreclosures: Who's immune? Probably not too many people.  Though California, Arizona, Nevada, and Florida are still the poster children for the housing carnage, Idaho, Illinois, and Oregon are up-and-comers.  Foreclosures for February 2009 are up 30% from February 2008 levels.  Seven hundred thousand properties owned by banks haven't been put on the market......
• Steps to take if you’re facing foreclosure, Part 3 Here's the last installment of Liz Pulliam Weston's tips for dealing with the possibility of foreclosure: Offer a deed in lieu of foreclosure. This is an option if the shortfall between your house's value and what's owed on it isn't too much.  The lender can say, "Yeah, I'll take the......
• Recognizing the signs of a family facing foreclosure Free Money Finance recently had an acquaintance of his go into foreclosure, and the signs of trouble were clear in retrospect. People don't advertise that they're facing foreclosure, at least not outwardly.  Even if money is getting really tight, people can compartmentalize the worry when they're interacting with others.  One......

• Repairing Damaged Drywall Sheets of drywall are generally quite strong, but they are only made out of gypsum plaster that has been pressed between two sheets of thick paper. The thing that ensures rigidity is the kiln drying process. The basic construction of the drywall allows for it to be inexpensive as well......
• REITS Vs Rental Properties Despite all the attention paid to the stock market in the financial media, real estate has long been the asset class of choice for many of America's wealthy individuals.  Indeed, in 2004 approximately 40%** of the top 10% most wealthy households held investment real estate, or about the same as......
• Money Merge Accounts: Just Say, No Thanks. There has been a new trend in the financial world in the last year or so in which consumers pay-checks are direct deposited directly onto their mortgage, and then consumers pay their monthly expenses out of what is essentially a home equity line of credit, and any money that one......
• Advantages of Creating A Home Business What are a couple of advantages of a home business opportunity? This article will tell you six advantages that you should know when you are considering the home business opportunities. 1. The first advantage of a home business opportunity is you will get to create your own business. You will......