In bad economy, life is good for the repo man ("A lot of this is self-inflicted")

[Amerigo Vespucci]

In bad economy, life is good for the repo man
By TAMARA LUSH (Associated Press Writer)
From Associated Press
July 15, 2008 6:09 AM EDT

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jwoweXlLqxxsNK1YYktYV7Y1i5FQD91U87PG0

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - In a bad economy, fun is often the first casualty.

For James Hedrick, that means it's a busy time in his line of work. He's one of those dreaded repo men.

He spends his days scanning megayachts, sailboats and fishing skiffs as he steers his dinghy through a marina west of the city's skyscrapers, looking for a piece of the American dream.

This particular piece is a gleaming white, 65-foot Hatteras with two master bedrooms, two full bathrooms and a full galley kitchen with glossy teak cabinets. The owner is $35,000 past due on his $1.5 million boat loan.

Hedrick is an agent with National Liquidators, considered by industry experts to be the world's largest marine repo company. The Fort Lauderdale-based company has tripled its business in the past three years, and now takes possession of about 200 boats a month in Florida, Ohio and California. The company's competitors also say they've seen similar increases in business.

"They're going to hang on to the car, they're going to hang on to the house. But they're going to give up on the boat," said Hedrick, whose employer has doubled its staff in two years to 85 repo agents so they can meet demand from the banks and lenders.

It's not just boats: Repo agents say banks and lenders have been asking them to reclaim all-terrain vehicles, motorcycles, small planes, snowmobiles, semi-trucks and, of, course, cars. Vehicle repossessions were up 10 percent in 2007 over the previous year, said Tom Webb, an analyst for Atlanta-based Manheim, the largest car auction company in the nation.

One boat dealer, whose company also does recovery for banks and lenders, says those facing boat repossession were typically involved in the housing boom either as a real estate agent, construction worker or mortgage broker.

"A lot of this is self-inflicted. It's somebody who three years ago made $50-$60,000 and didn't save a penny," said Ray Jones, the owner of Long Beach Yacht Sales in California. "They thought the income would never end. But the income stopped and the toys went away."

Rising gas prices have also made it harder for owners to make room in their budgets for boat trips. Marine diesel fuel is over $5 a gallon in some places, which means a five-hour jaunt on the water can easily cost $250 for some gas-guzzling yachts. Last year's marine diesel cost about $3.40 a gallon.

"For about a year now, it's been good for the repo guy," says Don Mashak, the owner of First National Repossession in Minneapolis.

[gratuitous]

1. No doubt it is self-inflicted in many cases

And there are powerful forces in the United States who want to hand over Social Security to folks with no more sense, no more long-term thinking ability than this. You have to wonder why. Until you realize that those forces are the scammers, the vultures and the rip-off artists looking to pluck these pigeons bare. What happens to a person who doesn't manage his or her privatized account very well? Do they starve in the street? Lovely. Or do we put together another taxpayer-funded program to put a floor under them so that they don't starve in the street? And if we're not prepared to see elderly and disabled people starving in the street, then why not just leave the Social Security system alone?

[Missy Vixen]

2. I'm sure the above industries

were just as scrupulous about offering loans to would-be boat owners as the mortgage lending industry.

It's socially acceptable to snicker at the now former boat-and-water-toys owners and chant the "personal responsibility" mantra. At the same time, these items represented jobs that are now going away.

Maybe I am shortsighted, but I'd rather starve in the street than work as a repo agent.

Julie