In a market flooded with foreclosures and angry homeowners desperate to squeeze the final pennies from their faulty investments, agents and buyers have little idea what they'll find when they open the front door, or if there will even be a door handle to turn when they get there, the voiceofsandiego.org reported.
It takes banks months to repossess and sell homes after owners stop making mortgage payments. In that time, some homes fall into natural disrepair. But a number of the foreclosures on the market deteriorate faster. Thieves snatch the copper piping or wiring to sell. And sometimes former owners strip the place of fixtures, hoping to sell them or to send a message to the bank, the website reported.
For more on how some see this trend as a golden opportunity, read the voiceofsandiego.org article "Gutting Foreclosed Homes, Down to the Kitchen Sink"
