Posted on 03/04/2009 7:19:37 PM PST by Libloather
Kids Party in Foreclosed Homes, Leave Wake of Vandalism
Party-Throwing Minors, Criminals Make Themselves at Home in Vacant Houses
By RUSSELL GOLDMAN
March 4, 2009
By the time the cops arrived, the house was in total shambles.
Windows were smashed, beer cans were strewn across the lawn, light fixtures were pulled out of the ceiling, the drywall was kicked out exposing the studs in the walls, and on nearly every available surface, spray paint indicated what that section of the house was to be used for, from the "liquor wall" to the "sex room."
The Ft. Myers, Fla., party ended late last month with 17 people lined up in the driveway staring into the blinding lights of a police cruiser's headlamps. Seven of them, aged 18 to 20, were on their way to the station to be fingerprinted and charged with loitering, prowling and contributing to the delinquency of a minor; the other 10, all under 18, faced an even worse fate -- explaining everything to their parents.
The recession gives people few reasons to celebrate, and families forced to foreclose on their homes and move out have little occasion to party. But for some young people across the country, the explosion of homes abandoned by their owners, like the one in Ft. Myers, is cause for celebration.
While a few kids hanging out may seem harmless enough, these foreclosure parties in vacant homes are often accompanied by drug and alcohol use, truancy, burglary, vandalism, and sometimes violence.
Police say breaking up a party, however, is not enough to stop the problem, which can encourage more troublesome criminal activities and diminish property values for an entire neighborhood.
(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...
Seven adults and 10 minors were arrested...
KIDS? The house looks like Katrina hit it. A four-pager at the link above.
If it isn’t kids partying, it’s homeless squatters. Soon it’ll be drug labs, shooting galleries, brothels, etc. It’s a no-brainer. Vacant houses are going to attract a lot of undesirable activity.
Plus summer’s fast approaching. Unless they booby-trap the houses, it’s going to be one busy summer for the cops.
The banks must be thrilled they foreclosed on the owner!
What do they care? They got their money. Wait till someone gets hurt. Probably sue the former owner for vacating.
Criminal trespass, breaking and entering, felony destruction of property, for starters.
Lose-lose for everyone.
The more I run this scenario through my head, the angrier I get. These empty houses are a public nuisance and without electricity and running water, they're going to be a fire and health hazard as well.
The bank IS the owner until the mortgage is paid. What should the banks do when borrowers don't pay?
When you work, do you expect your employer to pay your salary?
This will eventually contribute to fixing the housing demand side of the problem. We have an oversupply of housing right now, and eventually many of the abandoned ones will have to be torn down, decreasing the supply and increasing the demand for the available houses.
Right... They should just let the mortages go, let the delinquent borrowers have the property and we can all dwell happily amongst the rainbows and unicorns.
Let’s just ignore the fact that when you reward behavior you get more of it.
I forget the exact details but some guy kept getting robbed and as a result rigged up a shotgun to a door. He was charged with murder when this did kill a burglar.
How about some harmless contraptions that just make noises and flash lights? All sorts of possibilities come to mind.
That's the problem with this foreclosure mess. There's no good solution.
Do you let the formers owners live in these homes without paying their mortgage? As you said, this rewards irresponsible behavior. So what to do? Leave the houses vacant? We're seeing what happens with this course of action. Tear 'em down? That's a possibility. Turn them into Section 8, low-income housing? Some municipalities are doing just this, much to the dismay of the neighbors.
This is just a big, ugly mess.
Put up by who? The banks? I'm sure the trespassers will make quick work of it with a hammer.
ACORN has $4 billion. They could pony up to fix the damage.
> How about some harmless contraptions that just make noises and flash lights? All sorts of possibilities come to mind.
The motion detectors are only effective IF people knew that there are inhabitants in the house.
As long as there’s a foreclosed SIGN OUTSIDE, it is just a billboard that says “party on, dudes”. Kids will probably use those flash lights as strobe lights for their party.
ACORN is actively encouraging squatters. The banks that own these homes should sue them. What goes around ...
you let the free market sort out this mess.
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