Illinois: Saddled By the Weight of REO Property Listings
June 3rd, 2009 by 
Joseph Smith
Home inspectors have noticed an alarming trend in homes on REO property listings. Many of them have sustained extreme damages.
Tom Carter, a home inspector, noted that homes on REO property listings then bore only writings on walls or harmless holes on the drywall. But now, he is alarmed by the extent of damages some foreclosed homes sustained. He said that some people removed the toilets, sinks, plumbing fixtures, electrical lights, switches and outlets, counter tops and kitchen cabinets.
Carter, of the company Quality Home Inspectors, has experienced the worst from homeowners who were forced out of their properties because of their failure to make mortgage payments. One example is a house at Joliet wherein former homeowners left behind three dogs and six cats, with no water and food, for a month.
Carter said that the foreclosed home was in the worst condition, with urine and odors seeping into the carpets and the floor stained. He claimed that to make the foreclosed house livable, the drywall and moldings should be removed and the carpet washed.
Meanwhile, Lamont Veenendaal of The Brickkicker, recalled a foreclosed house severely damage by motor oil that had spread around the property.
Illinois foreclosure filings jumped by 68 percent in the first quarter of this year, to 38,966 properties, compared with a year ago level for the same quarter. This increase happened despite government efforts to rescue the banking institutions and help distressed homeowners avoid REO property listings.
The number of foreclosure filings in the first quarter was 32 percent higher from the December 2008 figures, with one out of 135 homeowners in the state receiving foreclosure filings. This makes Illinois the fifth highest among states with foreclosure rate.
In March, Illinois reported 15,398 foreclosure filings, an increase of 8 percent from February and 79 percent higher from the March 2008 level. In Kane County, foreclosure rates reached 4,146 and 48,765 in the county of Cook in 2008.
Meanwhile, abandoned and vacant REO properties for sale are being tracked by police through regular patrols. Aside from damages perpetrated on the houses, another big problem compounding vandalism is the squatters.
Squatters have been known to occupy homes on REO property listings that have no heat or running water. Some would even go to the extent of changing the locks on utilities and tampering with water meter so that nobody could read it.
