Selling Poinciana One Property at a Time.: It's Jungle Out There!!!

Reserved parking for TLW

Don't see any Titus Towne Realty signs on any of these guys!  This is all really too bad, because they look like they could be nice homes for somebody.

Goodness.  That's sad.  Looks like an abandoned town.  Makes one wonder if there was a plague or alien invation.

Hard to find properties like that around here becasue of the many communities with home owner associations that would go in, maintain the grass and put a lien on the property 

I wonder how many of them are foreclosures.  I read recently where a town was holding real estate agents for maintaining the properties they list if the banks will not. 

Pictures do indeed speak a thousand words, we all need to hang in there until all these properties are scooted up by buyers again.

Pat, I pass on placing my sign on a property that looks like that. Here's the before and after of one I placedon the market today. The seller has pretty much abandoned it so I spent $60 to get it looking better. Sometimes it's easier to just do what needs to be done.

Before                                   After

Lenn, These are all foreclosures. The Polk county side Poinciana has a foreclosure rate of 15%. That's 1 in 7!!! We do have a HOA it's just they can't keep up.

Bryant -  When I get calls from folks asking, "How can I find a foreclosure?"... I usually tell them to look at the upkeep or lack thereof in regards to Landscaping.  It is sad and I hate seeing it.

1 in 7.  Wow.  Our rate is like 1 in 600.  I can't imagine trying to sell a home with stats like that.

At least it's green. In our area the indication is a bone dry front yard.

That is a sad sight. I understand that Poinciana is one of the largest, if not largest HOA in Florida- can't the association do something? "Jungles" like that can only make matters worse.

Bryant,

Thanks for the post. Whether short sale or foreclosure, putting the best foot forward helps to make the possibility of selling even greater.

Wow. I'd be scared of losing my buyers in that mess.  Maybe you could offer safari tours?

These images tell the story in a way that words just can't.  Our Board has hovered at approximately 40% of our Sales being foreclosures or short sales, but that's entirely different than what you're dealing with in regards to 15% of ALL properties being in such dire situations.  I'm reading a book right now called 'Confessions of a Subprime Lender.' Absolutely riveting reading...

I'll take em all, where do I sign?

Broker B:  Sorry to see this going on (everywhere).  You're smart to make an investment to improve the curb appeal on your new listing.  Hope it sells for you very soon (before it has to be mowed again!).

Very sad !

That's crazy!  I've seen some bad ones while driving around town here, but I can't say any of them were that bad.  Your foreclosure rate made me curious as to what it is here.  Does your association publish those numbers or did you find them yourself?  I don't know if there is a way for me to find out through a search or not.

Bryant- Wellington will not allow this sort of thing. We have one home in our entire neighborhood of 2000 homes that looks similar to one of those photos, but it has the Wellington Abatement program signs on it. It will get mowed and then billed to the lender by the Village.

BB - sad sad sad.... You are truly going above and beyond keeping up with the properties the owners abandoned.

What a shame. The grey, two-story is a pretty house! Ironically, I'm selling a house with a yard like these. I'm going to blog about it today or tomorrow. I took the photos today =)

these houses scare me.... they tend to have lots of spiders -

Bryant, Not only is this sad to look at. Just think of all the heartaches and lost dreams of the families who left these properties.

Looks like the land of opportunity to me. I'm sure you will find a way to get buyers in these properties

I think I should get a part-time job doing yard work in your part of the country!  LOL

Oh yes, signs of the times. It's a rare short sale/foreclosure/REO that has a reasonably landscaped yard, or any lanrscaping for that matter.

Jeff

BB,

Yikes, do they sell weed-wackers in FL?

A little effort goes a long way to encourage a buyer to consider these homes. They need help.

Oh my.  Those poor homes (and people who once called them home).   The sadness permeates through your photos.

It really is trying time for a lot of people. Unfortunately, it is going on all over the country..obviously more in some areas and states than others.

Looks like some areas around Metro Detroit - not with my sign (great job in cleaning up the yard of that one home) but I have to take buyers by some of these properties and if definitely does not paint a good picture.

The lawns on the foreclosure properties in our area generally aren't too long because there hasn't been enough rain to get the grass to grow, but the weeds and picker bushes are rampant!

BB- are you sure some of those are not located here in Myrtle?  $60 to change the one?  That is impressive...I will be looking for the post about your $60 spent for $1,000 in curb appeal!

Too bad others in the neighborhood don't take care of yards like these!  I can't believe how overgrown everything is in your pictures!  At least it is all green!

You would think that sellers and their agents would be more serious in selling in this market.

HI BB!

OMG, I can't believe they're trying to sell those homes.  And I bet they're wondering why the home isn't selling!!  Unbelievable!

BB, I liked James comment above. This would be an opportunity to start a landscaping/yard clean up business.

Hi Bryant,

A sad tail, isn't it. To think the homeowner would allow their property to detoriate to that extent. In addition to it being less then attractive the property is screaming abandon and calling out to be vandalized.

Couldn't an arrangement be made to pay for grounds maintenance at the closing table?

BB, it looks like even the landscapers are upside down in their business.  Just not enough money there to keep the economy flowing. AJ

When I relocated to NY, leaving my daughter (20) in my house in Colorado, this is EXACTLY what happened to my yard.  This is very sad, indeed. I'd be afraid to walk to the front door, wondering about what's lurking in them thar blades...not to mention inside...the HOA'S (or what remains of them) must be sick with the way that things have evolved.

ughhh  I hate to see that....  so sad all these homes sitting vacant and still such a huge population of homeless here in the US.

<sigh>  

.

BB- Yes, in fact I've been saying all along it's a jungle out there for a while now - but, meaning in turms of being in the front lines of real estate sales....by the looks of many of the properties you photographed, the visible jungle says it all.

Wow, those are some scary pictures of your area. We see a few of those, but they are few and far between.

Man B, you are living in the jungle.  Forget the weed wackers... you need a bush hog for some of those yards. :)

Good commercial for some round-up!   It is a sad state of affairs when we see these homes not cared for or maintained.

Seems the neighbors should get together and do some clean up to protect their own property values. 

WOW!  That $60 was well spent!  Amazing transformation!  You should win a contest and get your $60 back for that before and after :)

What a sad "Field of broken dreams"  For so many people struggling-the houses they have left behind speak volumes in their absence.

Wow - and they wonder why the homes aren't selling!

This is what it can look like here after some good rains like we've had.  Then the 'dry heat' returns...

Bryant, can we say we need a little adjustment to the curb appeal on these beauties??

BB-

If I wasn't booked up, I'd start a side business in lawn care for foreclosure properties!  Maybe I'd get paid eventually!?!?!

This is pretty scary looking yard. A gator could be hiding in there and get ya. Where is the for sale sign?!?

I posted a similar blog a few months ago after visiting my rental properties in Florida where half the neighborhood looked like your photos.  How do people expect houses to sell and property values to level out if no one wants to move into a neighborhood that is half overgrown like that?

If I were the real estate agent, I think I would spend a couple of bucks and have someone visit my vacant listings and mow it down or do it myself.