Dec 16, 2008 6:52 pm US/Central
Business Booming In Foreclosed Home Maintenance
(WCCO)
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Right now there are about 6,600 foreclosed properties on the market in the metro area. One realtor who specializes in these homes said he's had to hire help to maintain them all.
CBS
The large number of foreclosures is bad for the people who are losing their home. But there are some businesses that are benefiting from the bank-owned properties.
There are a lot of boarded up, foreclosed properties in the Twin Cities. Right now there are about 6,600 foreclosed properties on the market in the metro area. One realtor who specializes in these homes said he's had to hire help to maintain them all.
Scot Pekarek is an REO agent, meaning he specializes in foreclosed properties, and he's busier than ever.
"In 2007, we had a handful, about 10. By the end of this calendar, year we would have had some interaction with about 250," said Pekarek.
But nothing in real estate is like it used to be.
"It is a little more work, it's a higher touch. You, in essence, become a property manager as much as you become a property marketer," said Pekarek. "We really have to lean on different servicers or different individuals to provide with help for things like snow removal."
Kevin Lithander is one of those people who Pekarek leans on to keep up his properties.
"Just with Scot we have 100 that we're managing and with the other agents I have anywhere from 150 to 250," said Lithander, whose business is booming.
"It's increased exponentially. The rate of foreclosures has gone up just leaps and bounds," he said. "I have three crews, about 20 guys, working around the clock."
His crews do it all.
"If this isn't winterized immediately, these pipes are all busted. So the second we get it, we have to insure that's taken care of," said Lithander.
No job is too messy. The family that lived in one Minneapolis house had a garage sale in their living room, and then left in a hurry.
"We have to get all the personal belongings and garbage out of the house," said Pekarek. That means more work, but it pays.
Pekarek will pay a storage company to keep valuables from the home. So these types of companies make money.
Locksmiths are also doing well, since someone has to change all those locks on foreclosed homes.
Sonya Goins, Producer Contact Sonya
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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