Pre-foreclosure next door- how scared should we be?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Okay, PP. I'm not saying they have to furnish the place top to bottom with expensive furniture. Just put up some cheap fucking curtains already! Sorry, but it is beyond weird to me to live on a crowded city block with no curtains in your house. How do you have sex, undress to take a shower, or do any other private thing with your house totally exposed to your neighbors? Bizarre.

You sound obsessed and nosy, and like you are assuming the worst about your new neighbors.

I suppose. They are never around, otherwise I'd say hello. I'd love to know what kind of people live in semi-attached rowhouses without curtains. I don't want MY neighbors seeing me have sex, shower, or get dressed. Call me nuts, but I like to have some privacy in my own home.

If you can kindly post a picture of you and your partner, the DCUMers can decide if WE would like to see YOU having sex.

[Anonymous]

It just so happens the ones in the foreclosed houses, or "old" houses, seem obsessed and nosy.

Frankly, the wealthy ones who can afford the neighborhood don't have that kind of time on their hands. The former's time is money - they are certainly not spending it worried about their neighbors.

Would the ones who bought their house on foreclosure have any reason to feel "superior" to their neighbors, or instead perhaps indebted to their neighbors? After all, the neighbors in the more expensive houses probably pay more taxes and "carry" the ones who bought on foreclosure. The ones who bought on foreclosure should show deference and be grateful they are there at all, really. The latter should be the ones putting up curtains.

In fact, maybe their neighbors will buy them some so they don't have to see (the foreclosed house's) sheets in the window, much like a shanty. Really.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So the crazy lady next door refused to renew the lease on her rental tenants last year (really lovely family, btw) and raised the rent. No takers. Then she put it on the market to sell (as is) at a ridiculously high price. Again, no takers. We're trying to improve our home without going over the general property values/sold prices in the neighborhood, so I occasionally check realtor sites for homes in our neighborhood. I was poking around on Zillow and saw that the house is now listed as a pre-foreclosure with an auction possible. What does this really mean, and how concerned should we be that it's next door. We're not planning to move in the next year, but this surely isn't going to help our property value.

Curious, any update on your neighbor's preforeclosure? Btw, what makes this neighbor lady crazy?

OP here- 'crazy' was a poor choice of words. I don't know her well- just what the tenants had said- she lived in the home when it was first built and likely has an emotional attachment to it. She really overvalued the home and refused to fix or update anything, but kept raising their rent. There are things that definitely need repair (visible rot on wood trim, etc). The home was listed for sale higher than any other in our neighborhood (including beautiful total renos and much larger homes), so it just seemed nuts to us. Here's hoping it moves quickly and the person/family who buys it plan to live there and maintain it. We're not looking for new best friends to live next door, just don't want the bank to sit on it forever. Good to know about the potential for foreclosures to be ignored at comps- that was our main concern since we're updating our home and have sunk a good chunk of change so far. Thanks, all!

Is the owner/crazy lady now still living in the house?

I think the biggest problem with foreclosures is that the former homeowners will sometimes refuse to move out, and the new buyers will need to call the police to remove the former owners.

With a pre-foreclosure at least, that's actually a good thing since it means the seller is somewhat motivated to sell. With foreclosures, often the former owners will give a big "F.U." to the bank and destroy the interior of the home.
The pre-foreclosure just means they've run out of money are stopped paying the bills, and that foreclosure is imminent, but not yet upon them.

She doesn't live there. She moved out years ago and has rented it ever since. It's been vacant for several months. Glad to know the pre-foreclosure can be a motivating thing- seems like a reality check is in order. To me, a sale, even at a lower price than hoped, is better than a foreclosure on my mortgage history. Hoping something good happens soon- the pretty weather may bring out some new buyers.

[Anonymous]

Why is there an assumption those that buy at a foreclosure cannot afford the neighborhood. If it is a nice neighborhood I could see how it could be wise financially to get a good deal and in this market I would think that if the house is well located it might sell fast or over asking just like any other house.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
It just so happens the ones in the foreclosed houses, or "old" houses, seem obsessed and nosy.

Frankly, the wealthy ones who can afford the neighborhood don't have that kind of time on their hands. The former's time is money - they are certainly not spending it worried about their neighbors.

Would the ones who bought their house on foreclosure have any reason to feel "superior" to their neighbors, or instead perhaps indebted to their neighbors? After all, the neighbors in the more expensive houses probably pay more taxes and "carry" the ones who bought on foreclosure. The ones who bought on foreclosure should show deference and be grateful they are there at all, really. The latter should be the ones putting up curtains.

In fact, maybe their neighbors will buy them some so they don't have to see (the foreclosed house's) sheets in the window, much like a shanty. Really.

Foreclosure doesn't affect the tax assessment, so people who buy foreclosures do not necessarily pay less in taxes. I really get irritated at how misinformed people are about property taxes. Property tax assessments are completely separate from real estate appraisals. They're different entities doing them. I hear people yammering on and on about how the value of their house dropped because their tax assessment was lowered. No, it hasn't. Appraisers don't use tax assessments *at all* to determine value. And vice versa, tax assessments have very little do with how much you paid for your house. (The exception, of course, is for new construction. That's a different tax animal altogether because there are usually front foot fees an other additional taxes included.)

And the nosy neighbor on this thread seems to be the lady who doesn't like foreclosure people. She's the one obsessed with her neighbor's windows.

[Anonymous]

HUH?


Have you ever seen a wealthy person obsessed with their neighbors? Do you even own a house?