[mandown]

http://la.curbed.com/archives/2010/04/new_city_plan_to_keep_foreclosed_houses_from_getting_too_blighty.php

The City Attorney came back with a draft ordinance yesterday and it would require properties be registered within ten days of a transfer of a loan or deed of trust, with an annual registration fee of $155. It would also require utilities stay on if a house is occupied legally, and that properties meet basic maintenance requirements, including being "clean and free from accumulation of debris, rubbish, garbage, trash, overgrown vegetation and other similar material," with penalties increasing up to $1,000 per day and maxing out at $100,000.

I've already heard that banks are getting pretty flexy with the idea of booting owners who miss mortgage payments. This could encourage a squatter movement, forcing the hands of the banks to let people get more loosey-goosey with the payment terms.

 

[stoney]

burn em to the ground. get rid of the inventory.

 

[BurlyShirley]

http://la.curbed.com/archives/2010/04/new_city_plan_to_keep_foreclosed_houses_from_getting_too_blighty.php



I've already heard that banks are getting pretty flexy with the idea of booting owners who miss mortgage payments. This could encourage a squatter movement, forcing the hands of the banks to let people get more loosey-goosey with the payment terms.

Not only that, but why pay utilities if they legally have to remain on as long as the house is occupied?

 

[dante]

I personally think that's an EXCELLENT idea. Maybe banks won't be a) quite so eager to kick people out or b) content to sit on a foreclosed property for the next couple years until the housing market comes back. There are all sorts of laws on the books regarding keeping your lawn mowed, or not allowing trash to accumulate in your front yard. All this does is ensure that the owner of said property (in the case of foreclosures, the bank) is responsible for the general upkeep. If the bank doesn't keep up the appearances, I wouldn't be surprised if there is a clause in the bill that allows the town to seize the property for non-payment of fines. So bank forecloses, doesn't keep up the property, racks up $100k in fines, city takes house from bank, sells as low-income-housing for $15k and gets someone in the house who's willing to take care of it and perform upkeep.

Damn, I'm surprised that this hasn't happened LOOOONG ago. As a side note, our town here is doing something similar for commercial buildings that are empty... they have declared the area a blight, have put forth requirements for the appearance, and if they are not completed they have the right to seize via eminent domain. Really gets the attention of absentee landlords.

 

[mandown]

i have a friend who tells me that his regular policy is to skip a mortgage payment every few months as part of his cash flow management. the bank hasn't hassled him yet, so he says. a coworker (we are in real estate, btw) told me he has a bud who hasn't paid his mortgage for a solid year and the bank won't kick him out because they'd rather have the property occupied. imagine the wasteland of fvcked homes if the bank started calling all their loans. hell, few are buying these days, and they'd be less likely to buy in an overgrown front yard jungle neighborhood of broken windows and empty domiciles.

 

[binary visions]

a coworker (we are in real estate, btw) told me he has a bud who hasn't paid his mortgage for a solid year and the bank won't kick him out because they'd rather have the property occupied.

I used to work at a Chapter 13 bankruptcy trustee's office. I was always amazed at people who could rack up $30-50k in missed mortgage payments on reasonably priced houses. That's just payments, no fees or extra interest tacked on.

I get a nervous tick if I realize I forgot to pay my electric bill on time. I can't imagine skipping 2-4 years of mortgage payments - I'd probably be huddled in the corner, tinfoil around my head, convinced that someone was watching me and ready to airlift my house into a prison yard at any minute.

 

[mandown]

I used to work at a Chapter 13 bankruptcy trustee's office. I was always amazed at people who could rack up $30-50k in missed mortgage payments on reasonably priced houses. That's just payments, no fees or extra interest tacked on.

I get a nervous tick if I realize I forgot to pay my electric bill on time. I can't imagine skipping 2-4 years of mortgage payments - I'd probably be huddled in the corner, tinfoil around my head, convinced that someone was watching me and ready to airlift my house into a prison yard at any minute.

i hear ya. sometimes i want to prepay my rent, just so i don't have to worry about it being late. this situation just goes to show the weird place the market is in; consumers could choke the banks with corpses if they all threw their keys back, depressing the already depressed housing market, causing banks to become bankrupt, human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together... mass hysteria!

 

[dante]

I used to work at a Chapter 13 bankruptcy trustee's office. I was always amazed at people who could rack up $30-50k in missed mortgage payments on reasonably priced houses. That's just payments, no fees or extra interest tacked on.

I get a nervous tick if I realize I forgot to pay my electric bill on time. I can't imagine skipping 2-4 years of mortgage payments - I'd probably be huddled in the corner, tinfoil around my head, convinced that someone was watching me and ready to airlift my house into a prison yard at any minute.

4 years (48 months) at $1500 savings/month... $72,000 would be a nice downpayment on another house, and might even be able to get the bank to overlook the "foreclosure" in big red letters written across your credit report.

 

[Pesqueeb]

I used to work at a Chapter 13 bankruptcy trustee's office. I was always amazed at people who could rack up $30-50k in missed mortgage payments on reasonably priced houses. That's just payments, no fees or extra interest tacked on.

I get a nervous tick if I realize I forgot to pay my electric bill on time. I can't imagine skipping 2-4 years of mortgage payments - I'd probably be huddled in the corner, tinfoil around my head, convinced that someone was watching me and ready to airlift my house into a prison yard at any minute.

Maybe I'm a dying breed but were actually paying extra towards our principal, and my wife has Quicken down to a science. Mortgage, water bill, etc, all preplanned and scheduled. I can't imagine just deciding to skip payments on something. I realize in some sick way it makes sense for people to walk away from their homes, but I still say its morally reprehensible.