Foreclosures leave California town deserted (20% of homes in foreclosure process)

[Liberal_in_LA]

Foreclosures leave Lathrop's west side deserted

Written by Denise Ellen Rizzo Thursday, 07 August 2008

LATHROP — Foreclosures have turned one west side Lathrop neighborhood into a ghost town, an occurrence that some say is becoming a common tale across the city.

“It’s terrible,” said J.R. August, as he looked around at the empty houses on his block along Victorian Trail.

“They’re all foreclosed, rented or nobody there,” August said. “It’s been like this for about a year. It’s like a ghost town, this whole street.”

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“I bought this house for $530,000 in 2005 and it’s appraised at $353,000,” said the man, who declined to give his name. “I want to see if I can get my money back. The house over there,” he said pointing across the street, “sold for $180,000. That house is just like my house.”
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“The houses are falling apart,” Tayco said. “My husband had to cut back the weeds from coming over the fence.” A bank in San Diego, she said, owns the house being auctioned off next door to her, and she said she knows they are not going to come and maintain its upkeep.

“Now you have to take care of your own home and everyone else’s,” Tayco said.



(nice homes,just too close together)





http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/stories/2008/08/04/daily55.html

Thursday, August 7, 2008 - 12:44 PM MST
Survey: Homeowners in denial about falling values
Zillow.com finds that a majority of homeowners believe their homes are insulated from the housing crisis, which has seen 77 percent of the nation's homes fall in value during the second quarter.

The online real estate company's second-quarter homeowner confidence survey found that 62 percent of homeowners believe their homes have increased in value despite the nation's widely reported housing woes and market data indicating the contrary.

Homeowners are even more optimistic looking ahead as they anticipate their homes will be worth more in six months. Still, many homeowners are concerned that foreclosures in their area could hurt values over the next year.

Zillow said preliminary results of its second-quarter real estate market report, to be released Aug. 12, show 77 percent of the nation's homes dropped in value during the second quarter, while 19 percent rose in value and 5 percent stayed the same.

"Whether it's apathy, confusion or just plain denial, homeowners seem to believe the housing crisis affects every other home but 'not my house,' underscoring a wide gap between homeowners' inflated perceptions of their home's value and the gloomy market reality," Zillow said.














http://sunpost.net/content/view/2089/190/

[SpiralHawk]

1. The putrid fruit of Republiconomics

[Liberal_in_LA]

2. ewwww! I wasn't prepared to see that.

:puke:

[SpiralHawk]

3. And America was not prepared for the corruption & incompetence of Republiconism

[Sherman A1]

4. I know there are several empty houses in my neighborhood

that never would have been a few years back. It's a starter home area (3 bedroom ranch in an older area), but as the original owners move off to retirement or assisted living the houses were rehabbed to be flipped, but the flipping hasn't come to fruition.