Christina LoNigro-Lazrak Newsweek Boston Housing Market Interview

 



Selling foreclosed homes is a growth industry for brokers. But some of the properties are disgusting.Lazrak specializes in selling foreclosed houses, and many of the previous owners—the ones who've defaulted on the mortgage—aren't very happy to be moving out. So before leaving, some of them punch holes in walls. Others manage to walk off with built-in appliances or cabinetry. Their most disgusting tactic: wiping feces on doorknobs and banisters, creating a surprise for would-be buyers. "We go through a lot of Purell," Lazrak says. According to RealtyTrac, U.S. banks now own a record 820,000 homes, up from 224,000 at the end of 2006. By the end of this year, says RealtyTrac senior vice president Rick Sharga, banks could own 1.2 million homes, which could constitute one third of U.S. homes for sale.

To sell them, banks turn to a special breed of real estate agent. "REO brokers" 

Full Newsweek interview is here