Questionable CL Sales

[mrb627]

In your shopping on Craigslist, do you ever stumble across ads like this one? Where the seller is selling EVERYTHING. Including the kitchen sink. Doesn't this smell of something shady like "We are going into foreclosure and wont let the bank have what they own so we are gonna gut this house first!" It makes me wonder if some branch of law enforcement is following up on these ads.

http://atlanta.craigslist.org/atl/app/1395463666.html

 

[jeffg]

That's a big leap of logic IMO. Especially when they're selling the kitchen cabinets, it's much more likely a remodeling project than a bank foreclosure.

 

[mattl]

I''m not going to shed a tear for the banks, let these people sell the stuff. Around here there are many bank owned properties that are in total ruin because of the banks. They haphazardly turn off the power without winterizing or turning the water off, houses are flooded from broken pipes or sump pumps not running. They devalue the property even more. Then they sell it "As Is" for pennies on the dollar. They can't be bothered to work with the home owners to come up with a plan to keep people in their homes, instead we end up with blighted neighborhoods.

The foreclosure scam is the biggest threat to our neighborhoods and tis country at the moment and no one is doing anything about it but giving the banks more money.

 

[rll70sman]

You got it, Matt! Great point!

 

[mrb627]

Interesting

It looks like a fairly new house to me. Not sure a kitchen remodel would include selling off the washer and dryer too. And trying to get top dollar for these things, no less.

Stinks of something shady.

And regardless of whether the banks are doing the right thing, it is illegal to sell off permanent fixtures in a house to make a little dough before the bank takes back their property.

 

[rll70sman]

You could very well be on to something, Malcolm, because I've seen several similar listings here in the Twin Cities area. I didn't really think anything of it until now.

 

[danemodsandy]

Looks Like a Remodel...

The fact that the cabinets are going points to a remodel, IMHO. Being foreclosed upon is bad enough in terms of one's credit rating, without adding theft by taking to it - a house's appliances may or may not be legally considered "attachments," meaning legally part of the house, and therefore part of the bank's property. But cabinets always are - because they are fastened to the house - even if you were the one who paid for them and put them in. As long as you have a mortgage, you can't strip them out and leave the house without any, in below-market condition, without setting yourself up for legal grief. You can take them out and replace them, leaving the house in market condition, though.

Those appliances and cabinets are, at best, MOL - they're ripe for replacement with something better, in the eyes of many homeowners.

 

[sikiguya]

Foreclosure

My Mom is an agent in AZ and more than likely, this is a foreclosure. You should see the condition that people leave these houses in. It's disgusting.
While I think that the banks should do more to help people stay in the houses they are already in, I don't condone people destroying a house just because they can't pay the mortgage anymore.

 

[travlincub321]

OOOh, it reeeks of forclosure to me.. There are tons of that here.. And even better in vegas people admot there going into forclosure on these ads

 

[launderess]

While It May Be A Foreclosure Sale

Highly doubt anyone with half a brain would list such a thing,as almost everyone knows it can be easily traced. I for one wouldn't touch anything reeking of such a transaction as one likes to sleep quiet at night,and not being awoken by local law enforcement or FBI knocking on the front door.

Trashing and or removing everything but (or including) the kitchen sink in a foreclosure eviction is not new, indeed quite common these days.

Could be a foreclosure sale, but also a remodeling or someone who purchased the home and wants everything out.

 

[bendixbubba]

remodel

I manage condo towers here in Vancouver. Have seem more than a few incredibly nice kitchens, some less than a year old, that had been torn out and replaced by new owners of the property..it does happen, and more often than you might think.

 

[andrewinorlando]

People have no scruples, but if I were a homeowner who was duped by my lender into a mortgage that I could no longer afford because they lied about the terms and I was too dumb to understand the written mortgage documents, then I could understand why I would want to remove my property (or what I felt was my property) from the house. It is not illegal to buy what one is selling unless it is illegal to own the item, and banks have zero recourse to do anything about it...they cannot afford the time, money or manpower needed to track these folks down. Remember, you have to be caught in the act either stripping or selling to be PROVEN guilty, and banks know this. Anyone can go in and strip a house...the lienholder would have to go through the motions of proving the homeowner did it...ain't gonna happen. We do not assume one is guilty...still have to prove it, though we all know damned well that homeowners do this all the time. One of the biggest increases in the kitchen remodel business in central Florida has been banks replacing kitchens that have been ripped out of empty homes that have been abandoned or foreclosed, though not a single case has been prosecuted. These properties are generally covered under a master insurance policy that covers liability as well as fire and vandalism, which banks collect on to repair these properties. It's far easier to file a claim and hire a contractor then to chase criminal prosecution where the burden of proof remains on the bank. Some of these repaired foreclosed properties that I have viewed have actually been redone very, very nicely with good quality materials and workmanship. I've been impressed by some of these remodels!!

 

[launderess]

Right,! Now That Someone Has Come Out With It!

Yes, anyone who has "duped" into purchasing a home perhaps should give back as good as they got, but tell me how exactly does one get snookered into making a major purchase? I mean unless one is backwards, blind, dumb or something else that renders you incompentent to understand just what was going on?

Was taught from almost the nursery to NEVER sign anything I did not understand clearly,and was to insist upon an explination of something that wasn't clear.

Just because some slick real estate person or banker tells you something that doesn't make it so; just as with anything else.

If you have never paid a credit bill on time in your life, and can't even live off what one brings home, what the blue blazes did these persons think was going to be different when they purchased a home? Yes, some truly were in no state to understand what they were getting into, however others, many others simply believed the line that home prices would always go up, and or they can pull every single cent of equity out of their home to live the high life. It wouldn't matter in the end because (at least so the story went), home prices would continue to rise and they could "flip" the house and come out ahead.

Warning lights were flashing for years, and once that horrible person in the form of "Jeff" on Bravo's show about "flipping" houses in CA came on the air, one knew things would soon hit the fan. There is a famous story of how a wealthy man managed to beat the stock market crash of 1929. How? One day while getting his shoes shined, the shoe-shine-boy gave the man a stock tip, he promptly went to his office and sold up. His comment after the market crash was simple; when shoe-shine-boys start giving stock tips, he knew it was time to get out of the market.

Same with this latest housing bubble burst. Everyone and their mother was buying homes with no money down and little questions asked, sooner or later the thing was bound to end in tears.

L.

 

[estatesale_gary]

Appliances could be from a house being torn down...

Check out this link to a house on Gleason Lake (in Wayzata, west of downtown Minneapolis). This house is being torn down - the estate sale is this weekend.

"This handsome 1920's estate on Gleason Lake (scheduled to be demolished) is full of household furnishings."

http://www.handbgallery.com/Estate_Sale_Gleason_Lake/Estate_Sale_Gleason_Lake-Photos.htm

 

[swestoyz]

Check out this link to a house on Gleason Lake

Seriously - this place is going to be demolished? Either the land value is greater than that of the structure, or the house is in such disrepair that it isn't economically fesable to restore. What a shame too, nice place on the lake with a pool?

Ben

 

[jeffg]

> Warning lights were flashing for years, and once that horrible person in the form of "Jeff" on Bravo's show about "flipping" houses in CA came on the air, one knew things would soon hit the fan. <

The character Jeff Lewis plays on Flipping Out is just that -- a character. These shows are written, they have scripts, and he follows the scripts.

If you get a chance to meet him or see an interview, do so. He's an incredibly sweet, down to earth and fiercely loyal person. And we should all look as good when we're 40.

 

[launderess]

I Don't Know Nothing About That

As matter of fact did catch a bit of "Jeff" on an interview last week on one of the late night talk shows, and in his own words: "seeing myself on the show made me realise what sort of person I was and how I needed to change...". So if that was "scripted" as well, then the man must be getting quite allot from Bravo to keep up the persona.

Even without "Jeff", the show highlighted what was going on in CA and other parts of the country. It is no accident that CA along with a few other states (FLA, NV, etc) were ground zero for the recent housing bubble.

L.

 

[jeffg]

Lewis has written and spoken quite a bit about his OCD. That's what he was referring to.

 

[whirlcool]

And this is STILL going on with the lenders.
My idiot niece and her husband (both 23) just closed on a $350K home in Indianapolis with a bank mortgage. Hubby's mommy gave them a $15K down payment as a gift and hubby is unemployed and niece works in a tanning salon for $7.50 per hour. Oh, BTW niece is 5 months pregnant with no health insurance.

Ever see a train wreck in slow motion?