Foreclosures mean good times to at least one type of business
When I’m writing about foreclosures for newspapers or magazines, I often mention that housing foreclosures help no one.
But now, after reading this story in USA Today, I may have to rethink that sentiment.
Turns out the country’s growing number of foreclosures is a boon to at least one industry: those companies that clean out homes that have fallen into foreclosure.
These “trash-out” firms are doing big business today. The USA Today story, written by Stefanie Frith, highlights one such business in Rancho Mirage, Calif., that is cleaning out 10 t0 20 homes a day. The same company also maintains about 500 vacant homes. Truly, the real estate slump has been a benefit this firm.
Another company featured in the USA Today story charged about $2,000 to clean out every foreclosed home on which it works. That price can go even higher depending on the condition of the home. Again, we have another business that is thriving in these tough economic times.
Such firms have more good news to look forward to. More than 575,000 home loans entered the foreclosure process in the third quarter of this year. And that pace doesn’t look to slow any time soon.
Of course, cleaning out these foreclosed properties isn’t always the easiest of jobs. One entrepreneur quoted in the USA Today story says he’s come across moldy food and hungry rats in his job. He’s also at times found the home’s residents still inside and not ready to leave. They’re usually not happy to see the “trash-out” business arrive, and often greet such workers by throwing rocks at them, according to the newspaper story.
No offense to the folks running these “trash-out” firms, but I think we’d all be a lot happier if these businesses weren’t the ones doing so well these days. I think we’d all prefer to see busy real estate agents, thriving lenders and harried appraisers and home inspectors again. Let’s hope that in 2009, we can start seeing the “trash-out” firms bemoaning their own lack of business.
