Ask any real estate agent and they will tell you they have seen their share of trashed out foreclosure properties. Here’s a sample video of one in the Agritopia subdivision. Yes, it is illegal to wreck a home, but that doesn’t stop a lot of people from doing it.
On Monday, I saw a new (for me) twist to this madness. While showing a beautiful northeast Mesa custom home–that was in great shape on the inside–we walked into the back yard to be presented with this:
Mother Nature? Sure, trees break, but usually not three trees in the same yard while neighbors seem to have no problems.
And Mother Nature doesn’t typically saw half-way through a tree branch…
Someone took a lot of time and expended considerable effort sawing precisely half-way through a dozen or so tree branches. Sadly, they turned a home with a view like this:
Into this:
To what end?
I don’t get it.
I understand being sad, frustrated and angry that your home is being foreclosed. But what good does this sort of vandalism serve? Does it really make someone feel better? I suppose it’s better than gutting the interior – at least this won’t have as large an impact on your neighbors home value.
But you are not “sticking it to the bank” when you pull a stunt like this. You are sticking it to the next person that buys the home. You are sticking it to your former neighbors that have to look at this mess every day. Not to mention that you are sticking it to the trees.
And what did the home buyer, your neighbors, or the trees have to do with your home going into foreclosure?
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It sucks people do this stuff.
You’re right though, it’s better than gutting the inside out which, as you know happens way too often.
Nick@Subject2.com´s last blog ..Owner of House is Dying
Jay that almost looks like perhaps a neighbor did that. If that tree was still in all it’s glory would it be blocking someone else’s view? I have not had the experience of someone doing damage to the landscaping. They usually take their aggressions out on the property it’s self. Our office had one that they poured pee gravel down all the plumbing and went under the house and cut all the support beams. REO’s are sold as is and this one was sold at auction, so no time to do a physical inspection. The buyer’s great deal turned into a nightmare.
Jana – none of these three trees would have blocked any neighbors view…
Cutting support beams — that’s just crazy!
Jay, What a sad thing to do to Mother Nature. This was beautiflully presentation. You did a great job on it. One day I hope to do this.
The worst I ever saw here was a beautiful new home where they left the water on and the furnace off in the winter. The pipes burst and the water damage was like nothing I have seen before. The walls were covered with mold and the floors were warped. The inspector said that the mold was so bad that the only way to fix it would be to take the walls out down to the studs and start over.
Teresa Boardman´s last blog ..Adopt a fire hydrant
Jay – Wow, that’s pretty sad. I’m always shocked at the stories about trashed homes. The worst I saw was a home that was just really dirty and stripped of carpet (but I think there may have been a reason other than “trashing” for that). It had one scary room in it, where the kids had drawn freely on the walls for what looked like years. It kind of freaked me out.
The story that I heard that blows me away is flushing dry cement mix down the toilets. No one’s the wiser unless they get a good plumbing inspection and it only takes a little bump of cement to stick and provide a place for things to catch and build-up overtime.
I, like you, feel the same way – I can understand the frustration, but wish people would think of the eventual consequences. It doesn’t bother the bank. It doesn’t hurt them. It only winds up making someone else’s dream purchase into a complete nightmare. When it’s the invisible damage (like cutting the support beams), we’re talking about serious damage to another person’s life – not the banks bottom line or the CEO who walked away with a couple of million.
It’s sad. Really sad.
Matt Stigliano´s last blog ..Introducing The New Wibiya Toolbar at RErockstar.com!
That is crazy to do. Does not accomplish a thing.
Will look you up when I get the guts to move from NY out there!
In Washington and a few other states there is a law called “tresspass to trees” that you can actually go to jail for purposefully and maliciously hurting or killing a tree. I am not sure that many places have these laws but it sure would be nice to smack this guy back for killing the tree.
-Tyler
Portland Condo Auctions´s last blog ..oct_0179.jpg
What is really bad is when you reports of Realtors looting vacant houses.
They should be locked up
While the ransacked houses are outrageous – the video you linked to above is unreal – the destruction of the trees is particularly painful. How sad. I had forgotten until I came upon this that years ago in the early 70s my parents bought a house whose owner had lost it to the bank. The former owners took a number of things from inside the house and then dug up and carted away all sorts of shrubs. And speaking of landscaping – seeing those cactuses in your photos is a kick – especially since it’s about zero degrees outside as I write. Must be nice!
Liz
Elizabeth Bolton´s last blog ..Concrete Buildings In Cambridge
I can understand the frustration, but wish people would think of the eventual consequences. It doesn’t bother the bank. It doesn’t hurt them.
antalya
That is a first for me as well. As a Realtor that deals regularly with investors and foreclosed homes, I am used to and even expect the interior to be less than “pristine” but I can say that I’ve yet to see the previous owners take out their frustration on the landscaping. Go figure.
Wow! Thats just sad. I sent a link to my son, he owns a landscaping company. That is just wrong. I’ve seen some bad REOs but I’ve never seen someone go outside and cut up their trees. I saw one that someone took a hammer to every wall in the house and that was the worst I’ve seen in person in the last 15 years.
I do 203K loans exclusively. A good portion of my loans are on trashed foreclosures. I have seen it all, even to the point of someone going up on the roof, ripping off shingles and creating roof leaks with a hammer. I’ve seen all the landscaping stripped a few times as well.
Jay,
Here’s my understatement of 2010: Lots of anger toward banks and taken out on houses & trees.
At the risk of turning comments in to a “one-up” from all of us, I only wish a recent inspection of a house involved a tree (not that cutting a tree is cool).
Someone (whether previous owners or vandals) broke windows, put a sledgehammer through all walls and tiled floors; ripped out all fixtures & cabinets in bathrooms & kitchen; smeared excrement all over the walls and floor with one big “drop” at entrance (how pleasing for the messenger = me).
And this house is in an “exclusive” neighborhood. And this doesn’t even mention all the shadow inventory lurking and deteriorating.
We realtors have our work cut out for us as challenges continue.
Thanks, Jay.
Mike
Mike´s last blog ..kitchen
I would probably not buy houses from them anymore if this is what they do when the foreclose the house. Shame!
It really sucks when people continue doing this thing.
California has seen many foreclosed homes and lots of homes which are torn up but not much of this … i would have to say this is the first of that. I agree with statements above about what have your neighbors future and home buyers done to deserve this. I guess some people take it out in all kinds of ways makes you wonder what is to come with foreclosures in the future.
How sad and pathetic that someone had to further ruin the neighborhood by destroying trees. The worst foreclosure I ever saw was one in which the homeowner’s final parting gift to the bank was to pump all the water from the pool into the house. Of course the Realtor with that listing said it needed some “TLC”.
Carmen Brodeur´s last blog ..Desert Mountain Members Leave Their Wallets at Home
Man, that is messed up! I own a landscaping company in Texas and I know how valuable trees are to a property. What kind of a dumb ass cuts the trees in half? I think if you cant afford to pay your mortgage, you should spend more time looking for a job and less time thinking of ways to destroy the property your about to loose. We really need some new laws to help stop this kind of destruction. It would be nice if the courty system took this person and made them remove the old trees and plant new ones. I know just how hard it is to dig out a tree of that size and I think they might learn a lesson if they had to do it.
Matt is right. This person is a dumb ass! I do landscaping as well and I think this kind of crap crosses the line. So you lost your house, find a new one don’t just cut the trees all up.