A new twist to the Hurricane season ----- Foreclosures

[marmar]

AP via Yahoo!:



Foreclosures add to hurricane hazards
By TAMARA LUSH, Associated Press Writer


LEHIGH ACRES, Fla. – Mike Manikchand points toward his neighbors — a half-dozen empty, foreclosed-upon homes, sitting on weed-strewn yards — and he wonders: What will happen if a hurricane slams into southwest Florida this year?

His simple answer: "A lot of these places will get destroyed."

Unoccupied, these homes would be defenseless in a storm; there will be no one to put up shutters, batten down garage doors and otherwise secure homes. But that's not all. Nearby homes and their residents would also be at risk from wind-propelled debris.

Lehigh Acres and other communities at the epicenter of the nation's housing crisis are coming to realize that this year's hurricane season, beginning June 1, represents yet another pitfall. Hurricanes could make hazards of thousands of foreclosed-upon houses, and their diminished value could decrease even more.

"Here's your choice," said Julie Rochman, president of the Tampa-based Institute for Business and Home Safety. "Spend a little bit of time and money to secure the properties to withstand wind and water or not do the right thing and have the homes become damaged and are valued less." ......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/stress_map_hurricane_foreclosures

[Shagbark Hickory]

1. Wouldn't *getting destroyed* be the best case scenario?

I struggle to think of a better idea than to have a hurricane wipe out these houses that aren't selling.
Even if they aren't damaged enough to be bulldozed, they will need to be repaired (insurance).
Hurricanes are like a big economic stimulus for the area that gets hit. It puts the construction industry in high gear and floods an area with insurance money and federal aid.
Now if they do get levelled, that will help to balance out the over supply.

[ljm2002]

2. So did you read the part...

...about the hazard to the neighbors when parts of the homes come flying at them? Do you really think that people who could not afford to stay in the homes have insurance to repair them? Do you think the banks that own some of them and can't be bothered to make them hurricane-proof, will bother to have them repaired after they are damaged by a hurricane?

And how about your neighborhood -- how far have the values fallen? How much farther will they fall if all of the unoccupied homes become truly derelict, not just empty?

Oh and welcome to DU. Possibly.

[madrchsod]

3. in the real world that could a "best case scenario" but---

florida is`t a what one would call a real world. i suggest reading the -madfloridian- journal. after reading her journal you`ll see that flordia is`t like any other state in the usa.

[Occulus]

4. Well, no, because of the debris

Many of these foreclosed homes sit in the middle of otherwise populated areas. In a hurricane, those foreclosed homes will be ripped apart unless the holders of the properties take steps to protect them- which, of course, the banks in question obviously will not do.

My question is, when- not if- this happens, will the banks then be held liable for the damage and destruction their property causes to neighboring properties? My guess is no.

This is a question that ought to be immediately addressed, of course, but won't be until the damage is already done.

[jwirr]

6. Insurance companies are already backing out of at risk areas - this

will only hasten the escape.

[dixiegrrrrl]

5. And if the empty homes do not have A/C going every day, they will rot from the inside out.

In the sub-tropics of the SE: empty houses have to have A/C turned on, and attic fans.
Otherwise mold grows fast. Very fast.
First thing you learn when looking for a house to buy.

[jazzjunkysue]

7. If I ever had to live in the south, I'd sure as hell rent rather than own.

I guess I'm spoiled in the northeast: We don't get hurricanes and tornadoes and earthquakes. Maybe a couple areas get polluted, but that's all.

My silly parents own 2 properties in florida. Trouble is, they own three more up here. It's nuts, and it's in my own family.