Several foreclosed homes in Kansas City, Missouri have been vandalized and there were also reported cases of copper theft. These incidents have made it even tougher to sell homes that have been foreclosed, adding the tight economic market.
Dan Thomson, a real estate agent in Kansas City, says that he had four homebuyers who backed out before closing a deal because they were turned off by damages on foreclosed properties.
Thomson blames copper theft for the damages, such as holes punched on walls, broken windows and stolen copper wiring. He claims that stolen copper wirings on vacant homes are estimated to cost hundreds of dollars.
He estimates that it will cost about $5,000 to $6,000 to replace the stolen copper wirings in vacant homes. He complains that both vandalism and copper theft make it difficult for him to sell a property.
According to Thomson, flipping a foreclosed property is not same the as flipping a switch. He explains that one property he was attempting to sell was given an appraised value of $27,000 by the county in 2007.
However, after going foreclosure proceedings, the bank appraised the property for only $7,900. He adds that the highest bid for the said foreclosed property was only half the bank’s appraised value.
He claims that he does not want to explain to potential homebuyers that they have to do some unexpected repairs which did not exist when they made the offer weeks ago. This means an instant reduction on the property’s market value.
Thomson is concerned that many foreclosed properties will be demolished if vandalism and copper theft will continue. He claims that the whole neighbourhood will be affected because the market value will go down.
He also believes that many vacant properties in Kansas City will be demolished because they are not worth the land they lay on.
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