Scott was a husband and proud father of three. Nothing was more fulfilling than the day he was approved for a home loan. His dream of providing a home for his family was finally a reality. He would soon be a proud homeowner, inviting his friends and family over at every opportunity he could to show off his pride and joy. One day Scott's perfect world came crumbling down. Scott developed a destructive plan to counter his unforeseen fate. Who would have thought this law-abiding citizen would mastermind such a heinous crime…
The new crime in REO: Deliberate and catastrophic acts of vandalism bringing destruction and disaster throughout America. Who is committing these vindictive acts? You probably would be shocked to find out. They are the baseball coach, the schoolteacher, the doctor, the accountant, the computer tech, the neighbor who proudly displays the American flag on the front porch. They are homeowners who feel they are the victims of greedy and gluttonous banks preying on the dreams of the American family. They feel they have been “suckered”and deceived by the slick talking snake who magically found their dream home and negotiated a deal of a lifetime. They want their voice to be heard. They have been cleverly deceived only to find their dreams snatched away. They are leading a silent revolution against the system that destroyed their future by, in return, destroying the very thing that represents what was taken from them… their homes.
Yes, American homeowners are sabotaging their foreclosed homes with destructive acts of vandalism… the consequences of this could be far worse than imagined.
One of the most common acts of vandalism we are seeing involves water lines. A disgruntled occupant manipulates a water line to explode upon instant water pressure. Once the water is turned on, the house is flooded within hours. The cost to repair: thousands, and that’s just in repairing the obvious drywall and flooring damage. There will also be health issues associated with mold growth. Run your HVAC system, then the mold spores could contaminate the entire house, unbeknownst to the innocent family buying the house, they get to breath the spores until they figure out why they are taking their children in for respiratory issues every 2 months. That my friends, leads us to an entirely different issue concerning agent disclosures, liabilities, etc.
A worse scenario…. imagine an ill-tempered and impassioned occupant rigging a gas pipe to leak gas and when triggered by an “electrical defect” (also rigged) an explosive charge ignites the house. With the close proximity of homes to each other mixed with the dry landscape, we have recipe for disaster. One house fire could potentially endanger an entire city.
We have all seen the regurgitated debris coming from the foreclosure virus spread throughout our nation. It’s tangible, visible, stinks, and is pretty much a straightforward issue dealt with hard working clean out crews, dump trucks, lots of trash bags.
Unfortunately, the visible is not our worst enemy. The problems caused by the ploys and vindictive tactics of occupant vandalism are serious and could cause immediate health and safety issues. Realtors need to be educated on these tactics and deal with them head on.
Agents should rely on licensed contractors who are trained to properly inspect all service lines prior to turning on the main power switch and water valve.
Those involved in the REO business, or any real estate for that matter, need to place high priority on the health and safety of community. The REO landscape has changed the world we live in. We can no longer avoid the giant purple elephant in the room.
TRUE STORY THAT HAPPENED TO US YESTERDAY:
We were called by an agent this week with a cry for help. He was checking on one of his REO's just in time to spot the beginnings of what would be a destructive flood caused by a manipulated water line, obviously sabotaged by the previous occupants. If we had not caught this in the time we did, we would be replacing dry wall and the flooring... for starters.
The agent actually blogged about it.. read it here.
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