The following is a guest blog by Matt Milmeister, author of Mastering the Art of Foreclosure Investing.
Anytime there is a foreclosure and the bank takes these properties back, they sit vacant. When this happens, the yards and houses further deteriorate and they become eyesores for their neighborhoods. Then property values of perfectly good homes in the same areas begin a steady decline.
- Image by egoldin via Flickr
Vacant properties pose a risk for kids getting hurt by playing around in them, they attract drug dealers and users or worse. It is not unusual for vacant houses to be stripped of their copper plumbing, heating equipment and air conditioning units, then to be vandalized, set on fire, and ultimately demolished. We are all familiar with such scenes in some of the rustbelt cities where it has taken decades for the communities to recover.
In California and Florida, foreclosed properties with swimming pools create special problems. With pools unattended, they become breeding grounds for mosquitoes, so communities have to spend much needed funds on helicopters to identify these pools, and then send city health inspectors in to chlorinate the pools to prevent a health hazard. Foreclosed properties are bad for our communities!
When investors acquire and fix up these properties, the overall landscape of our communities is improved. Usually investors buy to rent – which provides people who need reasonably priced housing with places to live, and provides neighborhoods with residents who care about the properties in which they live. Market values are stabilized and then generally increase over time. The psychology and well being of neighborhoods and communities are also stabilized and improved. When people look around and see activity in real estate, they feel better about the future. And since our economy is based on psychology, a positive outlook has powerful multiplying capabilities.
America has always thrived on the basis of investment and hard work by entrepreneurs. America needs investors! Foreclosed real estate properties of all shapes and sizes are currently in abundance and represent tremendous opportunities for our nation to build value and increase wealth while at the same time improving the overall economy and well being of our citizens.
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- There Are 19 Million Vacent Homes In The US [Recession Watch] (consumerist.com)
- As Homeowners Go Bust, It’s Boom Time for Some in Foreclosure Business (nytimes.com)
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I hardly know anything about real estate business but due to what happened, I find myself more interested on how it works. Thanks for the very comprehensive explanation.