WTF, Why are people leaving all this stuff behind?

[Cleo]

A rather depression story about foreclosures but what I really don't understand is all the belongings that they are leaving in their homes that end up in a landfill.

[bDok]

yea saw that today. I'm in shock as well.

Just amazes me that they can't get themselves together enough to try selling lots of that stuff. Heck if I was one of those workers I'd be collecting all those computers and anything I could put in my truck and try selling it. Or taking it to second hand shops.

Worst case scenario you bring the stuff to the next job site if you couldn't find a buyer and toss it then.

Could be making another 100-300 a day at least.

[RedCherry]

If I was a trashout person, I'd be grabbing as much as I could and selling either on ebay or at garage sales. That is what my neighbor did before he got hurt. He trashed out houses during the week, then had garage sales on the weekends and sold all the good stuff.

When I managed apts, it was the same thing. People would move out and leave tons of stuff...not even people evicted, just people who were moving. I ended up with a fishtank one time full of fish someone left that I babysat until I found someone who wanted fish, lol.

[Ramster]

All I can say is wow.

[Greenguy]

All I can say is that I'm glad my bank & I stayed away from that crap when we refinanced the mortgages a couple years ago.

[Mr. Blue]

That's an upsetting story. I don't get why they don't try to sell everything they have before hitting foreclosure...in minimum they can at least get some money from it instead of it going to a landfill.

The personal things though...I don't get leaving that behind, pictures, etc.

[Useless]

It's really amazing how paralyzed people become when losing their homes. All of us who watch that video are stunned by the amazing amount of valuable and useful stuff those people leave behind, and that's how we know that those poor people are not in a clear state of mind.

My parents majorally fucked up when they refinanced their home about two years ago. They lost their fixed rate mortgage and put themselves in a variable rate instead. The bank quickly began jacking up their payments, which doubled within a year. My mother lost her job and a few months later, silly her, got breast cancer for the second time. (Yes, I realize that I deal with this shit in a weird, rather callous way. (She's recovering just fine.)) They haven't made a payment in more than six months and their house, which is shit, isn't selling. But this is what troubles me the most: they act as if everything is normal, as if they weren't served foreclosure papers two months ago. They haven't packed anything or sold anything. They don't act like people who very well could be booted from their home any day. It's really quite disturbing.

My wife and I, my brother and their realtor have tried to impress upon them the importance of preparing to move, but they have an odd waiting for a miracle attitude about it all. Honestly, it scares the shit out of me, especially when I read about people like Addie Polk. I keep telling them that we have room for them and that they could just relax and not worry about bills anymore, but their reaction to my invitation is always, well, worrisome.

[MadCat]

It's a shame thing. A lot of people will see the foreclosure papers and slide right into a state of fullblown denial, subconsciously feeling very ashamed about not being able to keep the roof over their head. Instead, they pretend nothing is happening and that "things will come around". Then the day comes they get kicked out of their house, and things still don't settle in proper and they think "well we'll come back and pack our things later".

Then when everything gets taken and dumped in a landfill, you'll see the nervous breakdowns or complete manic episodes that follow.

@Useless Warrior: If I were you, I'd actually pack your parents' stuff for them, and drag them off whether they like it or not; they'll thank you for it later

[Useless]

Originally Posted by MadCat

@Useless Warrior: If I were you, I'd actually pack your parents' stuff for them, and drag them off whether they like it or not; they'll thank you for it later

My 65 year-old father was a power lifter and still lifts a couple times a week. You aren't dragging that man anywhere he doesn't want to go.

Frankly, I think I prefer seeing them this way, rather than dealing with the depression that sets in whenever the reality of it all periodically dawns on them. If they were in their seventies, I'd have to step in, but for now, I'm going to let them deal with it the way they see fit, even if that means that they aren't dealing with it at all. Also, I'm willing to admit that my stance on this is partially due to my own selfishness - I don't want to have to deal with their problems anymore than they do.

[Bobc01]

That's a seriously sickening story.

There are alot of greedy people responsible for all this, let's hope they sleep well.

[Ramster]

I had a triplex a few years back that I had to evict a lady. It took months and when I finally got the court to say yes she has to go she was served a 7 day notice to get out that the sheriff's department would be coming to change the locks at 9am next Monday. Well next Monday I show up at 8:55am and she is still there. She says to me "I have a friend coming over in an hour or 2 that will be moving my stuff out". I tell her it doesn't work that way. The cop dude shows up and says the same thing. She has 10 minutes to take whatever it is she wants out WHILE the locks are being changed. After that she gets nothing. She put what she wanted out by the curb and left the rest.

People just don't like to face reality sometimes I guess. And when it hits they don't have the inner power to deal with it and in many cases don't have the room to take everything with them.

[Greenguy]

Originally Posted by Useless Warrior

...and that's how we know that those poor people are not in a clear state of mind...

There's no need to remind us, we know they're broke.











|tomato|

[Useless]

Originally Posted by Ramster

I had a triplex a few years back

for threeways.

[Greenguy]

I was gonna say that I injured my triplex last night trying to sleep assault The Bitch

[RedCherry]

I had a 3 year fixed then turned into a variable on my original mortgage. Thank GOD I refinanced at Ditech right before the 3 year part was up, so I now have a fixed rate loan, or I might be in the same boat as these people.

My sister, however, told me she still hasn't paid her mortgage for last month or this month, and is waiting for a yearly bonus check from her husband's work to catch up. They have a fixed rate, rather small, home loan and I just want to her for not paying that first before everything else. I just don't get it. She has never sat down and added up her monthly bills to figure out how much she pays out each month, and budget how much to put aside each week. Call me anal, but given we get paid in this business all over the month, I have to do that.

[SirMoby]

Originally Posted by Greenie

All I can say is that I'm glad my bank & I stayed away from that crap when we refinanced the mortgages a couple years ago.

You got that right. When I was shopping many lenders wouldn't even talk to me about fixed rate loans and the ones that would spent a lot of time pitching balloons and ARMs. Everyone thought I was nuts but now all my neighbors are complaining about how their mortgages went up but mine stayed the same.

[Cleo]

Originally Posted by SirMoby

You got that right. When I was shopping many lenders wouldn't even talk to me about fixed rate loans and the ones that would spent a lot of time pitching balloons and ARMs.

Same thing here. My house was paid off but then I used a home equity line of credit to remodel and then got a small fixed rate loan to pay that off. Every place that I went was trying to give me an ARM for much more then I needed to pay off the home equity line of credit. I ended up with a 15 loan fixed at 4.5% for exactly what was needed to pay off the home equity line of credit. Then a few months later my bank gave me a new huge home equity line of credit that I have never used.

[T Pat]

My stepson lost his house last year, it was a train wreck waiting to happen. I'm still amazed he got a loan and I have to admit I enjoyed saying “I told you so”.
My brother is walking away from his house, he's 50 a foreman for a union drywall contractor that has work lined up for several years, they only work on new schools and prisons.
His wife is 48 employed as a teacher at one of the state prisons for 20+ plus years.
Combined income for the two of them is $250,000, they have put three kids through college and one through beauty college.
Three years ago they sold their house that they had lived in for fifteen years.
Bought an older house on a one acre lot, did a major remodel and their walking away from it, not because of a ARM or having trouble with payments, all of their neighbors had ARM's now it's just not safe anymore 9 out 10 houses in the area are boarded up, the copper thieves are stripping the houses and there are big fucking rats running around he's had a few commit suicide in his swimming pool. It sucks they can't sell the place and their credit will be shot until he's 60.
On a plus note my daughter and son in law are buying (just went into escrow yesterday) and they had no trouble getting a 30 year fixed loan with 20% down.

[docholly]

I bought my house here in Vegas in 1992 and paid it off in 1997. I rented it out to my son's godparents when i left vegas in 1998 and they are still living here. When i moved back in 2004, I was thinking I might sell it off "as is" figured I could get about 200K for it. The appraisal was 320K but then i got to thinking where the hell would I live. My friends here were all buying up houses..much bigger, grander and much more expensive than mine.. and now all but 2 have been abandoned/foreclosed.. I am so glad a couple of years ago when i was thinking of getting a home equity loan, I decided to wait until DaDawg left for college and then just unload the whole thing.
the value of my house has fallen from the highest appraisal of 360K in 2006 but the true market rate should be somewhere around 200-215K, which I am perfectly happy with.

[stuveltje]

question, dont the usa have a law to protect those people, we in holland have several laws for that, even the bank will take your home, you will get help also, most of the time, these people end with no debts at all and a new home, well in our country that is.

[MadCat]

Originally Posted by stuveltje

question, dont the usa have a law to protect those people, we in holland have several laws for that, even the bank will take your home, you will get help also, most of the time, these people end with no debts at all and a new home, well in our country that is.

Nope, the USA doesn't have WW, WAO, bijstand, etc. there's no social security at all, as far as I remember. So if your house gets taken, you're up that fabled creek without a paddle, because the only help you can get is either from friends or relatives willing to put you up until you get back on your feet.

Wait for this stuff to kick off in Holland as well though, given that Fortis had to get their asses bailed out to the tune of 4 billion, the AEX taking a plunge... shitty situation.

[Useless]

Originally Posted by MadCat

Nope, the USA doesn't have WW, WAO, bijstand, etc. there's no social security at all, as far as I remember.

The U.S. does have Social Security, but it doesn't amount to much and doesn't kick in until you apply for it at retirement age.

There is a growing Reverse Mortgage program for homeowners over 65. My parents applied for a reverse mortgage, but, due to the high interest rate, penalties and missed payments, they owe too much on the house for the bank to go forward with it. (The home must appraise for certain percentage over what is owed.) If that would had gone through, they could have remained at their home indefinitely without ever having to make another payment. The Reverse Mortgage bank attempted to convince the current mortgage holder to do a short-sale, but they refused to take a penny less than what is currently owed, even though they would still be getting more than the original debt and wouldn't have had to spend tens of thousands of dollars on foreclosure proceedings. (Which is one of the reasons these inflexible sub-prime banks are killing themselves.)

I have compassion for my parent's situation, but it is their fault. My father was a realtor for 18 years and he should have known that the re-fi loan they were signing was shit. Plus, they were barely holding on even before my mother lost her job.

[Cleo]

We need reverse web whore mortgages. In exchange for the deed to your house you get all the porn you can eat for life, get to live in it until you croak, and web cams are put in ever room of the house to earn some extra cash. Should start a whole new renaissance of mature porn.

[Licker4U]

Originally Posted by Useless Warrior

The U.S. does have Social Security, but it doesn't amount to much and doesn't kick in until you apply for it at retirement age.

I fell off the roof of my house 5 yrs. ago, shattered my heel bone and had 3 surgeries in 9 months. In bed for months, on crutches a lot and couldn't even apply for disability until I had been disabled for a year. Wasn't thinking clearly and didn't sell my house and lost it in foreclosure. Even selling at a discount I could have pocketed a lot of equity but just wasn't thinking. I was able to get all my stuff out of the house and put in a self storage place until I can get another house. To leave that much stuff behind that was in the video some of those people must have been really broke.

[stuveltje]

Originally Posted by MadCat

Wait for this stuff to kick off in Holland as well though, given that Fortis had to get their asses bailed out to the tune of 4 billion, the AEX taking a plunge... shitty situation.

Morgage issues are here already going on for 3 years, alot of people lost their house, but all got help and ended without debts so they can start all over again, there is enough money in holland to help the banks, also the dutch goverment paid some money to help fortis, the rule here in holland is also, every person has a garantie (dont know if that is right written) that the money which they have on their bankaccound is insured for an amound of 20.000 euro, so if you have 15000 euro on your bankaccound and that bank will go broke, you still get your 15.000 euro back from our goverment, thats why most people who have alot of money use different banks. We pay all kind of taxes in holland, we have tons of insurrances, some we are forched to have by the goverment. Sure i know that this will hit europe also, hell its already going on, but i am not afraid that i will loose my money or so.We are just a small country.