Foreclosed homes being stripped by exiting owners

Neighborhoods in southwest Florida and elsewhere are losing more than just neighbors. Homeowners in foreclosure are ripping out bathtubs, wiring, countertops, sinks, windows, garage doors and even the trees from the yard and selling them for cash.

As a result, property values are falling and the tax collections associated with them are stripped, as well.

The victims are everywhere. In Florida, law enforcement hasn't made any arrests. Banks and mortgage companies haven't brought anyone to court.

"We do an awful lot of foreclosures and it's unusual to see one that is totally intact; at the least appliances are missing and usually fixtures and fans," said Pam Jensen of the Home Team Inspection Service in Lee County, Fla.

In Arizona, officials have been cracking down on foreclosure stripping. Julie Halferty, a special agent with the FBI office in Phoenix, heads up a mortgage fraud task force composed of local law enforcement agencies. The task force leads the nation in pursuing charges against borrowers.

"I think people didn't think there was anything wrong with it. People saw on Craigslist other people were doing it," Halferty said.

Brett Brown, president of the Naples Area Board of Realtors, said he recently showed 25 homes in one area to a prospective buyer. They were bare to the point of being uninhabitable, he said.

So, where are all the doors, windows, countertops and appliances going? Type "foreclosure" into a search of the free classifieds Web site Craiglist.com.

"My house is being foreclosed on so I am selling anything & everything that's inside the house & out," a May 11 post out of Bonita Springs, Fla., said. "Bring cash."

The number has been disconnected, and a reverse look-up indicated it was a pre-paid cell phone.

In Phoenix, Halferty said officers have worked with lenders and prosecutors to ensure those under suspicion can be held liable for devaluing the properties.

Though the banks aren't complaining and aren't pressing charges, Halferty and the task force went forward anyway.

In pursuing charges, the task force sets up sting operations and pursues investors stripping multiple homes, Halftery said.

Fort Myers, Fla. criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor Michael Hornung said similar charges could be brought against foreclosure strippers in Florida.

"There (are) enough state laws in place that definitely could apply to what is going on," Hornung said.