The KSL newsroom had been receiving more and more stories of foreclosure purchasers who took possession of the properties only to find major damage and stripping of the home’s components.

Alex Cabrero took the assignments and started researching the issue. He found me through Google search, he reviewed my website, and immediately contacted me for my expert opinion on the topic.

The “Trashing Foreclosures” news story originally aired on February 10, 2009 on the 6 o’clock KSL newscast.

NOTE: The portions added in blue below complete the story and yet they were left on the editing room floor so that the time constraints of the news broadcast could be met.

February 10th, 2009 @ 5:58pm

By Alex Cabrero

The 2008 home foreclosure numbers for Utah are in, and we set a state record: more than 8,000 homes were foreclosed on. And it's already looking like 2009 will set another record.

Some homeowners who were foreclosed on didn't go peacefully. Some, not all, and certainly not the majority, but some homeowners decide to trash their homes and take whatever they can from the inside once they get a foreclosure notice.

CLICK IMAGE TO WATCH THE VIDEO Video Courtesy of KSL.com

The problem then shifts to the bank and the new owners like Tera Brown. She says, "We saw what it was like beforehand, and that's when I fell in love with the house." She knew she was getting a good deal. Her dream house just happened to be a foreclosed home in South Jordan. But what it was like before and after the foreclosure are two different things.

The woman who owned the house before Brown took almost everything after receiving the foreclosure notice. Brown says, "She had taken all the toilets and all the light fixtures and all the doorknobs and hinges."

The bank had to sell the house for less because Brown had seen what was taken.

Michael Leavitt, a home inspector, says the bigger issue arises when people buy foreclosed homes at an auction and don't actually see the inside of the house.

He says he's seen plenty houses where the former owner took everything. He says, "They'll take light fixtures, even right on down to the cover plates on the lights and outlets and take the dishwasher and disposal, and you walk in and the place is just gutted."

Leavitt shared that many crime rings have blossomed nationwide where the thiefs will show up to the vacant properties at 6 PM and work way into the wee hours of the morning and strip everything and haul it away. Neighbors usually see the activity and just think that the bank is sending in repairmen to prepare the home for sale. Within hours every outlet, switch, water valve, light fixture, cabinet, countertop, plumbing fixture, and mechanical device is stripped from the premises. Police in Northern California recently caught foreclosure house strippers selling the stolen fixtures on Craig’s List in a nearby County. Leavitt says, “If you are buying a foreclosure home at auction, then you better see the inside of the home immediately before you make the purchase to ensure that the interior of the home has not been stripped or vandalized.”

He even had one case where the former owner poured urine into the heating vents, causing a huge stink whenever the furnace kicked in. “The added expense to remove the ductwork and all of the basement ceiling drywall that the leaky ducts allowed the urine to drop onto had to be replaced.”

Leavitt cautioned that prospective buyers of vacant, foreclosure, and bank owned REO properties need to get all of the utilities turned on and then have the home thoroughly inspected before they complete their purchase. Leavitt says, “Even though you are buying the property “As-Is” with no disclosures, it is important to know the condition of all of the systems and components of the home before you close on the home. And don’t go cheap. Hire the most experienced inspector that you can afford because any issues I can identify for my clients will help them better protect their financial assets as they take possession of the property.”

Leavitt says that homeowners stripping their fixtures is often because they feel like they have to get back at the bank that's foreclosing on them. He says, "Yeah, many people are mad. Some have lost their jobs or fallen on hard times. A lot of people are frustrated when they're foreclosed upon, and they feel it's still their house and, therefore, they still own everything and it is somehow their right to take everything with them when they leave. I can understand them taking the items that they have upgraded since moving in, but they should really be leaving the home in a similar condition to the way it was when they took out their loan for purchase."

So what happens to the homeowner who takes everything? Sometimes, the banks do go after them, but in many cases the banks just write it up as a loss.

E-mail: acabrero@ksl.com