When you hear the term "foreclosure property," what comes to mind? A dilapidated crack house in a marginal neighborhood? If it is, be prepared to change your perceptions, because the face of foreclosure is changing. It’s affecting upscale homes and neighborhoods to the detriment of their neighbors. According to Wednesday’s Los Angeles Times: [Thank you L!]
Houses abandoned to foreclosure are beginning to breed trouble, adding neighbors to the growing ranks of victims.
Stagnant swimming pools spawn mosquitoes, which can carry the potentially deadly West Nile virus. Empty rooms lure squatters and vandals. And brown lawns and dead vegetation are creating eyesores in well-tended neighborhoods.
Here’s a great example from my hometown of Gilbert, AZ. There’s a upscale neighborhood called Chaparral Estates West just off of Williams Field Rd. The homes were built by Toll Brothers, and the neighborhood is well groomed, [Some properties in here have sold for over $1 million] with the exception of this property on Clifton Court:
Although the lawn is currently dead, on closer inspection the sod squares are still visible- whatever went wrong, went wrong fast. That’s a half finished fountain in the front yard by the way, and there’s an enormous half finished pool in the back yard to go with it:
