If you have sold items taken illegally, you can also be charged with trafficking in stolen property. If so charged, you open yourself to racketeering charges and criminal forfeiture actions.
Banks and homeowner’s insurance companies are also capable of filing civil claims or pushing criminal prosecution of home owners who have stripped their houses.
What Happens to Sellers Who Strip Their Homes?
According to a representative from Downey Savings and Loan, it's the home owner's insurance companies that are most likely to pursue and prosecute sellers who vandalize or strip their homes while in foreclosure. When the bank receives title to the home through foreclosure proceedings, many banks submit an insurance claim (such as to the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) who sells the house via HUD) to the existing insurance company to cover damage and missing real property items.
Insurance companies then actively go after the sellers because the company has faced a loss due to the seller's intentional behavior. Believe me, insurance companies are relentless, committed to collection and will prosecute to the fullest extent of the law.
NANCY J. DAVIS of State Farm Insurance should exhibit this behavior...
The following items are assets, fixtures that should NOT be removed from a home that is in foreclosure:
- Cabinets and counter tops
- Appliances such as stoves, built-in microwaves, dishwashers, water heater, garbage disposal, etc.
- Furnaces and air conditioning units
- Plumbing and copper pipes
- Romex or other electrical wiring
- Light fixtures and ceiling fans
- Doors and hardware
- Flooring, ceilings and walls
- Windows and vents
- Medicine cabinets, sinks, tubs, toilets and showers
- Sink drains and faucets
- Built-in shelving / bookcases
- Landscaping, fencing, built-in pools and spas
Assets Home Owners Can Remove from Foreclosed Homes
All personal items brought into the home by the owner such as furniture, clothing and common household items such as dishes, pans and silverware- Mirrors
- Personal artwork and photographs from walls
- Stationary lamps
- Pets and pet-related items such as dog houses, aquariums, bird cages
- Easily removable window coverings such as drapes or curtains
- Refrigerators, televisions, computers and stereo equipment
- Throw and area rugs
- Indoor plants
- Portable fans and heaters
Vandalism of Homes in Foreclosure
It's not all right to spray paint the walls or windows with graphic images or tagging. I've seen homes where every window looked like it had been whopped by a baseball bat. Some previous occupants deposited feces on counter tops or in the middle of the living room floor. One can only imagine where other odors originated from. Sometimes home owners turn on all the water faucets and plug up the drains before departing.
People who vandalize a home they are losing through foreclosure are not harming the bank by their illegal actions. They are harming innocent home buyers who, just like they once were, are hoping to achieve the American dream of home ownership. In short, owners who trash their homes are hurting themselves.
It's senseless, it's stupid and above all, vandalism is against the law.
