Foreclosed Homeowners' Revenge

More and more angry homeowners, forced out of the houses by foreclosure, are trashing them, leaving a damaged mess behind.

Some are stripping them down to the walls, reports Kelly Cobiella on The Early Show.

She went into one foreclosed home in Tamarac, Fla. that looks like a real bargain from the street.

"It sold for $325,000 back in 2006," Remax realtor Myra Beams told Cobiella, "and now, it's on the market for $197,900."

One look, and it's clear why, Cobiella observes. There are holes in the walls and the ceiling, where the lights used to be. The stove is gone, along with half the kitchen faucet, both air conditioning units, and most of the bathroom. They even took the bathtub and toilet.

"It's amazing what people do," Beams remarked. "I think people get pretty angry about what's going on."

These days, half the foreclosed homes Beams handles are damaged, often by angry or desperate owners trying to squeeze every last dollar from their investment.

One historic Palm Beach

Neighbors told Beam the previous owners had a yard sale and "just took the kitchen out and sold it on the front lawn."

Nationwide, experts say the loss from damaged foreclosures is in the hundreds of billions of dollars, and has become a huge drag on the housing market.

A recent survey by Campbell Communications of real estate agents across the country found about a-third of foreclosed homes are so badly damaged they don't qualify for standard mortgage financing and are priced at a big discount -- 30 percent or more.

The survey's author, Thomas Popik, says, "If you happen to be a neighbor of one of these damaged foreclosed homes and you have to sell your house, you can expect to sell it for about 20 percent less."

Ben Leace and his family live within a few blocks of four foreclosed homes. Two are in terrible condition. The Leaces now owe more than their home is worth, in part because of falling property values.

"It's sad," Leace says. "We've basically invested our life in our home, and what other people have done to get out of their particular misery or problem affects all of us."

However, says Cobiella, buyers are starting to show interest.

The historic Palm Beach home without a kitchen, which sold for nearly $900,000 in 2006, is now priced at $206,000.

"It's going to cost a lot of money and take a lot of time to bring this property back, but it would be worth it!" remarked prospective homebuyer Sally Smith.

To try to keep outgoing homeowners from trashing the houses, some banks are offering them cash if they hand over the keys while the home is still in good shape, to stop the damage before it's done, Cobiella points out.