Every real estate investor knows that a property sitting empty on the market is a magnet for vandals and thieves. However, you probably do not expect the property to explode as part of the process. That is just what happened, however, to a house on the west side of Youngstown, Ohio, last week. Firefighters suspect that vandals were in the basement of the empty house either during the explosion or shortly before removing pipes for scrap metal[1]. The explosion was likely caused by leaking natural gas. No victims were found in the rubble.
The property in question has been vacant for five years, and the owners, who no longer lived there, did maintain the property and had successfully prevented vagrants from inhabiting it and creating an unsafe environment for the neighborhood. However, the property was clearly uninhabited and that made it an ideal target for scrap thieves, who break into homes and steal anything that can be sold for profit, including pipes and other metal works that may be critical to keeping the property intact[2].
How do you deal with problems like scrap thieves and other forms of vandalism in your investment properties?
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[1] http://www.vindy.com/news/2011/jun/16/by-john-w-goodwin-jr/
[2] http://www.wytv.com/content/news/local/story/Scrap-Thieves-Impact-Real-Estate-Sales/DCBoyFV1LkyoZEcDbBkY4Q.cspx
The owners should have sold the property while it still had some value, rented it out or should have had an security alarm set up in the house.
How can they call this an investment property when it was sitting vacant for five years?
What were the owners waiting for? A fire? Sounds fishy.
I owm a property on the East side of Y’town and yes it’s a problem. My first tenant took all the copper pipes when they moved out and the vandals always took the screen doors when it was vacant. I replaced anything copper with other less valuable materials and had my PM walk through and replace anything that could be remotely seen as valuable. Oh yes, and don’t buy the $125 screen doors recommended by my PM; buy the cheapest $35 ones. The expensive ones can get stolen just as easy.
I ended up renting it for less than what it was worth just to keep someone in the property.