CNBC has posted an article about how some homeowners are stripping their houses of practically everything before they are repossessed by the bank. Some homeowners will say that they’ve been victimized by the bank, yet these same people typically haven’t been making payments to the bank in 6-12+ months and their stripping of the house can cost thousands or tens of thousands of dollars to the bank. This is wrong, it is criminal, and it should be stopped.
Solution: Make it a felony
A bank has lien rights against the property. Items attached to a property (fixtures) are considered part of the property (real property vs. personal property). Though a homeowner has a right to modify a property, by wholesale removal of fixtures in the house it becomes no different than a burglar stealing from a homeowner. This is already criminal – it just isn’t technically a crime yet. This costs the neighborhood in terms of further depression of home values (stripped house becomes a comparable for future sales, when condition often unknown to appraisers/public). It also costs banks big money, which impacts future mortgage rates & fees. It is a hidden tax on the rest of us.
Criminal is such a harsh word. I prefer ruthlessly testing the bounds of legality. See, you have your amateur grifters and your have your professional grifters. Amateurs, they can’t help themselves but run cons. We have to have a lot of laws because of low-level amateurs. Unfortunately, the breed prolifically and we will never be rid of them.
The professional grifters go into politics, FIRE, and defense contracting.
I agree with your blog post completely. I think our culture may just be warped in terms of what people think their rights are. When people buy homes they tend to think because they are homeowners that the property is 100% theirs free and clear. It all comes down to responsibility and if politics and society keep rewarding entitlement type behavior it will only become worse.