Photos By John HoffTalk of a "second wave" of foreclosures appears to be panning out as predicted. A couple weeks ago, I was at a friend's house on 23rd Ave. N., and a guy drove up to sling some paper on the door. After he left, we checked out the paper and, sure enough, it was yet another foreclosure.
Of course, that was when we discovered the door to the house was unsecured and made a 311 call. I have to say, the people who lived at that house were...
...real no-accounts, though certainly not the worst-of-the-worst, and not filthy in their living habits. They tossed a real nice little blue nightstand on the curb when they left, which I snatched up and put to good use. I even gave the nightstand a little pet name, and maybe some day I'll say what that name is.
Also, just today, I saw another foreclosure notice hit the door of a house on Bryant Ave. N.
Based on my anecdotal observations, the "second wave" of foreclosures does appear to be hitting.
But I say that's also a "second wave of bargains" for new homeowners in NoMi.
Of course, that was when we discovered the door to the house was unsecured and made a 311 call. I have to say, the people who lived at that house were...
...real no-accounts, though certainly not the worst-of-the-worst, and not filthy in their living habits. They tossed a real nice little blue nightstand on the curb when they left, which I snatched up and put to good use. I even gave the nightstand a little pet name, and maybe some day I'll say what that name is.
Also, just today, I saw another foreclosure notice hit the door of a house on Bryant Ave. N.
Based on my anecdotal observations, the "second wave" of foreclosures does appear to be hitting.
But I say that's also a "second wave of bargains" for new homeowners in NoMi.
That's a darn cute house if I do say so myself...
ReplyDeleteAnd SUCH great neighbors!
Your anecdotal evidence is being borne out through much of NoMi and SoMi, John. And here's the scary part.
ReplyDelete(Side note/tangent: I'm now reminded of a Saturday Night Live "Deep Thought" that goes something like, "Somebody told me how much topsoil we were losing each year, but I told that story around a campfire and nobody got scared." Hopefully my mortgage stuff won't be as boring.)
Predictions are that this wave of foreclosures will happen to two main demographics: another round of landlord/speculators, and people suffering from job loss/income reduction. There's really no program out there to help out landlords - even the good ones - and I'm not sure how you create something that does so without inadvertently giving comfort to slumlords.
A similar concern comes up for people with either no income or so little income that a loan modification is no longer feasible. Yes a foreclosure in that scenario is bad all around. But that loan is also tied to so many other financial vehicles, like Granny's pension account. Somewhere along the line, someone with an interest in those loans is going to call it in and say that it's time to enforce the contract and foreclose.
It's not that I WANT foreclosures. Heck, we need some kind of radical solution here (NOT a blanket moratorium though). But there has to be a point where banks legitimately go through with that process. I'll admit that I don't have the answers though and welcome discussion on this topic.
I didn't have the house number handy for the post. Can you post it in a comment?
ReplyDelete"Klidsdale's house on 4th is back up for sale/rent again too
ReplyDeleteI am generally not in favor of putting the addresses of vacant houses on the internet.
ReplyDelete(At least ones that aren't currently a problem to their neighbors.)
If anyone is interested in specifics about the place they can feel free to email me at minneapolisgirlatgmaildotcom.