I have a friend who appraises forclosure homes. He has told some truly horrific stories of things he's seen before the cleanup crews go in. I'm not sure I could stomach that job although picking through the leftovers could be cool.

It's too gruesome.

When we were house-shopping, we actually looked at a number of foreclosures. The vast majority of them were complete hellholes...I'm guessing most people being foreclosed on just trash the place before they're forced out just because they can. I can't imagine what those houses would look like before the cleanup crews come in. Although, why would people leave so much stuff behind? You'd think they'd try to take everything they could with them (if only to sell it to get some cash). Some of the places we looked at were missing lighting/plumbing fixtures that the former owners took with them.

it's really scary to think that it's what the world has come to with the mortgage crisis. i don't know what i would do if i were in that place and i think that i would really cry if i knew that people could take what they wanted of what i worked hard for cause of losing my house.

Spectra, the reason why people leave behind so much stuff are for several reasons...One, Many (most) still try to save their homes even at the very last minute(homes on foreclosure have 5 days before the auction sell date to come up with the money) two, families are either broke or have gone bankrupt and cannot afford to rent a truck or especially with today's gas prices (no friend or family want to spend money or miss a day of work) and failing economy. Three, their families and friends are in the exact same or similar situation as the foreclosure families. These are only a few reasons why families cannot take their things. They simply can't afford or have no way to take their personal belongings anyhwere. Lastly, number 4, the most tragic, they just don't have anywhere to go.

We're in the process of buying a foreclosure. Luckily there wasn't much junk left, but we did look at some where they didn't just leave some of their stuff, they purposely ruined the house. Like taking a hacksaw to the pool equipment, or hammering through walls and things like that. It's so crazy.

Most houses don't sell at auction! Right now on my cul-du-sac, there are two houses that are going up for auction, which is so sad. The yards are dead, the houses are empty. But you have a lot of time to make good on the loan before the house goes up for auction, months! It's an awful time, it literally makes me sick.

Besides the obvious reasons this makes me sad to see them throwing away perfectly good stuff when they could be donating it to Goodwill or recycling.

amycullen2 it does say that they try to get charities to pick things up but a lot of times they do not take everything. I know Goodwill here in Portland does not take some large household things. It is sad that it has come to this but hopefully people learn to live within their means and do their research before they sign on those many dotted lines. I too have heard the horror stories of what gets left behind or destroyed when a house is foreclosed on.

My neighbor was foreclosed on. Fortunately someone bought the spot withing weeks. But they took the major appliances like the refrigerator, oven, cooktop, range, spa, a/c units.

I talked to the crew that went to clean the place out. I asked him if I could take stuff before the took it to the dump. He told me if he didn't already sell it on eBay, it was trash.

This breaks my heart... Imagine all those people literally having to start over from scratch, owning close to nothing! And then tossing out fine china and perfectly good furniture and clothes is horribly bad for the environment considering our landfills are already cluttered and once these people relocate they'll have to buy all new furniture (which means cutting down trees, using more resources and spending energy to transport these goods across the country). I wish there was some organization that could do something about this..

I've heard and seen the opposite--that they take things of value, any value, and take it with them. We went to a home with no door knobs, light bulbs, mirrors, cabinet doors, etc. Anything that could be taken was taken.

In response to fancifulfabi, we are trying to create an organization to do something about this and get the goods donated.

Please visit at http://goods-waiting.ning.com/

Your comments/suggestions/ideas/thoughts are welcome.

The cleanup crews and banks are not responsible for the negative environmental impact - the irresponsible former owners are - they had months to sell things on ebay, craigslist, or at a yard sale, or to arrange for charitable donations. Instead, they sat on their duffs, until the last second, and then drove away - the same kind of financial mismanagement that got them foreclosed upon in the first place. And these disgusting irresponsible people apparently don't worry about the fact that they are leaving a mess for someone else to deal with and pay for - I would not dream of moving out of even a foreclosed home without taking or disposing of every personal belonging (not the fixtures, which generally stay with the house, contrary to what someone said above) and cleaning it. These same former owners are now renters, who will leave their rental full of junk and dirt and then complain about their mean landlord not returning their security deposits.