Home owners who have had their houses taken away in foreclosure sometimes take their anger out on the houses themselves.
WTEV reports on a foreclosed mansion in Jacksonville, Fla. in which the previous owners have apparently ripped out the home's cabinets, light fixtures and appliances.
With millions of Americans still facing foreclosure, the phenomenon of homeowners ransacking their houses on their way out may only continue. In Florida, one in every 336 housing units received a foreclosure filing in March, according to RealtyTrac.
The glut of foreclosures across the country is weighing on property values, and with former homeowners leaving their houses completely stripped, the houses are likely to drag down neighboring property values even more. Foreclosed homes weigh on neighboring properties more than vacant homes, according to an October report from the Cleveland Federal Reserve.
Evicted homeowners ransacking their houses isn't all that uncommon. KVUE reported on a similar situation in Texas.
"They're mad at the bank so they take it out on the house," George Roddy, of the Addison based Foreclosure Listing Service, told KVUE.
Ransacked or not, foreclosed homes weigh on their surrounding neighborhoods. Properties that are occupied, but in foreclosure, drive down the surrounding property values twice as much as vacant properties, an study from last October found. In the coming year, ABC reports, American taxpayers will spend more than $40 million just to keep the lawns of America's foreclosures mowed.
The Prudential American Group says on its site that homeowners who intentionally damage their homes after foreclosure could face lawsuits.
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