Only in America - Banks Pay Homeowners to NOT Trash Forclosed Home

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http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120665586676569881.html

Buyers' Revenge: Trash the House

After Foreclosure
Banks Pay People Off
To Deter Home Rage;

By MICHAEL M. PHILLIPS
March 28, 2008; Page A1

LAS VEGAS -- Eddy Buompensiero noticed eight pairs of shoes outside the
door of the modest house on Mother of Pearl Street, evidence that the
former owners were still living there even though the bank had
foreclosed.

Mr. Buompensiero, a gray-bearded inspector for REO Asset Services-1st
Realty Group, rang the bell. When no one answered, he taped a letter to
the door offering the occupants $1,000 to move out. The catch: They won't
get a cent if they trash the house before they leave.

"If it was me, I'd take the money," Mr. Buompensiero said as he drove
away. Either way, they're "going to get thrown out in a couple of weeks."
Glitzy Las Vegas isn't immune to the foreclosure crisis and WSJ's Michael
Phillips reports bitter homeowners aren't leaving quietly. Now, banks are
offering to pay them not to strip down or vandalize their foreclosed
homes. (March 28)

The stucco subdivisions of Las Vegas are caught up in the nation's
foreclosure crisis. These days, bankers and mortgage companies often find
that by the time they get the keys back, embittered homeowners have
stripped out appliances, punched holes in walls, dumped paint on carpets
and, as a parting gift, locked their pets inside to wreak further havoc.
Real-estate agents estimate that about half of foreclosed properties to
be sold by mortgage companies nationwide have "substantial" damage,
according to a new survey by Campbell Communications, a marketing and
research firm based in Washington, D.C.

The most practical way to ensure the houses are returned in decent shape,
lenders and their agents say, is to pay homeowners hundreds or even
thousands of dollars to put their anger in escrow and leave quietly. A
ransom? A bribe? "Yeah, somewhat," says John Carver, an agent
specializing in foreclosed homes for Prudential Americana Group in Las
Vegas. But "you lose a house, and then you get some financial help --
it's a good thing...It's a win-win for both parties."

(snip)
 
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