Florida leading the country in Foreclosures, CBS News Interviews with Home Angels

Reporting by Israel Balderas, CBS 12 News

Florida is the number one state nationally for foreclosed homes and CBS 12 has uncovered a dirty secret. Some local residents vow that if they can’t have their house, no one can. Nicholas Partington owns a restoration company based in Boynton Beach. When he often walks into abandoned foreclosed properties he finds former owners either neglected reparations or they trashed the homes, and have left the properties with active leaks needing mold remediation.”You can see that people have poured concrete into the toilet and into the tub,” says Partington. “This tub and this toilet seems to be brand new.” This isn’t an isolated incident. Partington says people across South Florida are really angry they’re losing their homes. CBS 12 has learned that Florida leads the nation in “zombie foreclosures”. That’s when homeowners abandon properties when facing a pending foreclosure action. In one case, abandonment led to severe mold problems, because rats chewed thru water lines. So not only did the property need mold remediation it also has a giant pest problem The rodents got inside by eating through the wall, and created a nesting place in the closet. Real Estate Broker Jeff Rubin works with Port Saint Lucie homeowners who are starting to miss house payments, hoping to help them before matters get worse.”You’re in a crappy situation and out of all the crappy choices that you have, a short sale is the least crappiest,” Rubin tells his clients. The goal is to get foreclosed homes sold quickly, with the hopes of  leading to less property loss for the homeowners and their neighborhood. The government has now come up with a financial incentive plan called “cash for keys.” It pays thousands of dollars to the out going homeowner if there is no damage.