Victim's of Your Own Home

A place to enjoy my fortunes, and feel secure walking around naked is what I call home. So who do these people think they are to come and steal my hard, earn, belongings due foreclosed homes? Unfortunately, Slavic Village, Cleveland had their fare share of items being stolen. Jim Rokakis, a Cuyohoga County Treasurer felt that after 800 homes have been foreclosed, crime seem to have increased. It seems to be that squatters and looters started to move into the empty homes. Mark Wiseman, the director of Cuyohogan County Foreclosure Prevention Program, said that “It takes about 72 hours for a house to be looted after it is vacant.” They would then trash the vacant home, leaving the yard covered in garbage.
Homes being foreclosed attract gang members. Joe Krasucki, 78, died the next day after being badly beaten; he was outside noticing gang members stripping aluminum sidings, making the homes nearly worthless. They take doors, moldings and appliances, pulling the piping out with a sledge hammer. Putting the homes back together takes a lot of money and effort which is not worth it for buyers to purchase, leaving homes vacant for more crimes to occur. This is especially hard on low income family like me. My parents moved us away from the ghetto due to crime rates. But having a foreclosed home as your neighbor just defeats the whole purpose when there’s not a community set up to care.
Sheriff Ted Mink ran into the same problem. He had a problem with foreclosed homes being left unattended for months. His community crime rate has also rised. Homes that are left for no one to watch are asking for unwanted people into the community. There have been reported incidents where homeless person or runaways use the empty homes as shelter. There are also times when they attempt to rig wiring to get power to the house. This is dangerous because the house could easily catch on fire. But worst, Sheriff Mink received reports about meth labs, and vandalism in the vacant foreclosed homes. This is definitely not what I want to here if I was a buyer. I don’t want to come home to what used to be a house and now it’s nothing but ashes.
Unlike unwanted communities, having a neighborhood watch, community knows who exactly their neighbors are, that means some community enforces background checks. According to Sheriff Mink background checks are not overly invading privacy; they just ask simple questions of employment and who lives in the household. I agree with this system just because if I was looking at a foreclosed home I would want to know what kind of community I’m getting myself into before I consider buying the home.
Ms. Daniel, a banker in Desoto and residents say that “the neighborhood suffers from increased in burglaries, decline in community spirit and unity.” This is all due to foreclosures. The community notices that if something is not glued down, squatters and looters are taking it. There’s been reported incident of burglaries breaking into house and stealing appliances such as furnaces and air conditioners out of yards to resale and make money for themselves. Whether they’re buying drugs or alcohol, it is very difficult to have a safe neighborhood without the community pitching in to catch these unwanted disturbances.
Market to sale homes is difficult as it is. By having a neighborhood watch program, neighbors can pitch in, watch the empty homes and help out by cutting grass or planting flowers just to make homes more inviting. Helping foreclosed homes sell quickly would not only benefit the real-estate market but also the home security. This is one of the most effective and least costly ways to prevent crime and reduce fear. It can reduce burglaries, robberies, crime, and strangers. With this program in place members not only learn how to secure their homes but watch out for each others property by reporting activities that raise their suspicions to the police and sheriffs.
A lot of times people are discouraged by starting a neighborhood watch because they feel as if their being watched constantly. There’s no privacy; all there is with this program is giving the permission for noisy neighbors to watch their every moves. This is not true. When I walk into a neighborhood and notice their Neighborhood Watch Signs I personally are more self conscious about throwing trash or even walking onto that street just because I don’t live there. And that is a plus for me if I was a home buyer. I do not want strangers to wonder around my neighborhood where they don’t belong. Neighborhood watch programs are for incidents to be reported immediately. There are not enough police and sheriff to patrol all corners of the street. This is when neighborhood watch program comes in handy.

Sources:

Appleton, Roy, and Jake Batsell. "DeSoto Neighborhood Hit Hard by Foreclosures." 29 Feb. 2008. The Dallas Morning News. 9 July 2008 .

Gridley, Clinton P. "Foreclosed Properties." 5 Mar. 2008. 5 July 2008 .

Les, Christie. "Crime Scene: Foreclosure." CNNMoney.Com. 19 Nov. 2007. 7 July 2008 .

Mantell, Ruth. "Safeguarding Your Home's Value as Foreclosures Flood the Market." 8 May 2007. 8 July 2008 .

Mink, Ted. "Foreclosed HOmes and Their Impact on Neighborhood." Apr. 2008. 7 July 2007 .