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Comments on: Real Estate Bottomed Out? https://whynow.dumka.us/2009/10/24/real-estate-bottomed-out/ On-line Opinion Magazine...OK, it's a blog Tue, 27 Oct 2009 04:17:55 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.3 By: Bryan https://whynow.dumka.us/2009/10/24/real-estate-bottomed-out/comment-page-1/#comment-49510 Tue, 27 Oct 2009 04:17:55 +0000 http://whynow.dumka.us/?p=11842#comment-49510 It is hard enough to get insurance for owner occupied properties in the state, so they can definitely not get insurance on vacant property. It is vital to have renter’s insurance in this state, because there is a high probability that your landlord has no coverage of any kind on a rental unit, unless it is a condominium.

Condominium dues and housing association fees are another problem for banks holding properties. If they don’t pay them, there will be a lien on the deed. In many places, if they don’t keep the yard up, there will be a lien by the local government.

After two months most of the utilities in Florida will pull their meters, which makes the houses obvious targets for scavengers and squatters.

The mildew will set in after a month, even without plumbing problems or roof leaks. This is Florida, and if you don’t air condition, you have to ventilate, or the mildew will cover everything. I have a friend who does rehabs, and he won’t deal with anything that has been vacant for longer than two months, it’s just too expensive.

There are new products becoming available to deal with some of the problems, but they aren’t cheap, and you can’t work in the area for two days after you use them without an air tank. They kill the mold and mildew, but you still have to deal with the staining.

They may be planning to sell the lots, more than the houses, because leaving them vacant will, as you note, make them uninhabitable.

The banks would be better off finding management companies and renting them to get some of their money back, but I doubt they realize this.

]]> By: Badtux https://whynow.dumka.us/2009/10/24/real-estate-bottomed-out/comment-page-1/#comment-49507 Tue, 27 Oct 2009 03:13:03 +0000 http://whynow.dumka.us/?p=11842#comment-49507 And the longer they hold these houses off the market, the lower their value becomes, because the banks are the world’s lousiest landlords — they don’t keep the power on (to keep the air conditioning / heating working) meaning that the pipes freeze and burst (even though the water is turned off, the pipes weren’t drained), the grass turns into a jungle, the paint peels, roof tiles blow off in tropical storms and aren’t replaced and the water soaks in and causes the drywall ceiling to collapse and the carpet to become a mold ranch, the tweakers and squatters break in and steal everything that can be unbolted or torn out even all the way down to any copper water pipes and copper wiring they can get to by smashing in the drywall, and eventually a meth cooker blows up the house or a squatter burns down the house while trying to keep warm at which point the bank collects the insurance money on it … well, if it were possible to insure an unoccupied home, anyhow. Which isn’t possible if you’re a normal human being, but for banks? Interesting to find out, eh? Is that their business plan, leave the houses unoccupied and collect the insurance once they get destroyed by meth cookers or squatters? Curious penguins want to know!

– Badtux the Landlord Penguin
.-= last blog ..And I’m BAAAACK… =-.

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