For my own amusement, I sometimes scan newspaper articles sent from my Google alerts. Especially when a strange story catches my eye. What I find even more interesting than the story, sometimes, are all the comments from online readers. If you generally skip reading the comments -- and I wouldn't blame you if you did -- you're missing a collection of thought stranger than fiction.
A part-time real estate agent in Arizona was nabbed by the FBI for mortgage fraud. His name is Kailash Bhatt. He also worked for the state and as an instructor at University of Phoenix. When the bank foreclosed on his home, Bhatt stripped the foreclosure home and began selling on Craigslist the fixtures: the kitchen cabinets, granite counters and built-in appliances. It's considered mortgage fraud to remove fixtures that damage the bank's security for the mortgage. The FBI investigates mortgage fraud.
The comments on this foreclosure stripping story ran the gamut. Here is a sampling of what readers thought:
- Bhatt is a terrorist.
- The FBI should be spending its time arresting real crooks.
- All real estate agents are criminals.
- It's the bank's fault for not implementing a workout program for Bhatt.
- The University of Phoenix is a toxic wasteland of crap.
- Criminals come from India.
- The federal government is to blame.
- Bhatt should be allowed to strip his home.
The Short Sale Savior, by Elizabeth Weintraub, available at Amazon.com
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Certified HAFA Specialist
My Sacramento Real Estate Listings
Elizabeth Weintraub is an author, home buying columnist for The New York Times-owned About.com, a Land Park resident, and a Land Park real estate agent who specializes in older, classic homes in Land Park, Curtis Park, Midtown and East Sacramento. Weintraub is also a Sacramento Short Sale agent who lists and successfully sells short sales throughout the four-county Sacramento area. Call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916.233.6759. Put 35 years of real estate experience to work for you. Broker-Associate at Lyon Real Estate. DRE License # 00697006.
The Short Sale Savior, by Elizabeth Weintraub, available at Amazon.com.
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Elizabeth - We couldn't make this stuff up:-) Especially, those comments to the story!
E--I just can't imagine.......or maybe I can...right...we couldn't make this stuff up!
Hi Elizabeth
It's an interesting world out there and nothing is surprising any longer.
Good luck and success.
Lou Ludwig
When people get desparate they do desparate things. Who among us would think that its fraud to sell stuff out of your own house (remember, the bank owns the note, not the house). Now, if it was me I wouldn't do it, but I'd sell the stove, and fridge. The rest of that stuff sounds like too much work for not a lot of money. It's Monday morning... wadda I know?
We are seeing more homes being stripped here in Vancouver WA as well. Sometimes the listing agent doesn't even know until another agent calls to tell them.
You have to love the comments! One of the things that makes the internet so wonderful is that everyone has access. (No matter how CRAZY they might be!)
Unbelievable ...
Having walked through so many homes that suffered the same fate and just wondered, it's refreshing to know that occasionally somebody gets in trouble for that. I always worry the most about the example these idiots are setting for their kids, what are they to think when they see their parents ripping their home apart? A whole generation of people who take no responsibility for their actions?
A house is not just the framing, roofing and siding; it includes those items that are normally transferred in a sale--cabinets, carpeting, certain appliances, lighting, etc. My guess is that he knew his actions were illegal---after all, he was a real estate agent--but he assumed it didn't matter since lots of homeowners are doing it.
Just beautiful! I hope he is no longer licensed to sell real estate.
It is to bad this guy lost his home. People do get depressed and do crazy things when they are loosing their home. Things had to be bad for him maybe he has a illness in his family or something like this and had to pay for other expenses. It seem like he was working hard with 3 jobs. It is easy for those of us who havn't been in this mans shoes to look down upon him. All we can do is hope he learned form it.
People will do crazy things in the face of foreclosure. I've seen a story where a man attacked his own house with a chain saw.
Well isn't that a hoot. His real estate web site is still up and running too. The comments lead me to think there is much wrong in the minds of the people who wrote them.
I'm with you, Dave. It's nice to see somebody taking action against those who strip homes. I have also heard that insurance companies are going after the homeowners because the lenders look to the insurance company to make them whole again.
Hi Tammy: I'll have to go take a look at his site. Many people are just plain nuts, and those comments can make you wonder if the whole world isn't nuts . . .
Losing your home is so stressful, so it really doesn't surprise me the measures that some people go to because of it. It's sad, really. And who are those commenters to judge. I'd love to see their glass house.
Hi Elizabeth ~ What was most shocking to me was the FBI sting. With all that's gone wrong with the banks I think the FBI chasing down fixtures on Craigslist is beyond the pale. Intestesting point you make about the role the insurance companies may play in that.
The comments are beyond words. It is very frightening to see what sorts of people crawl out from under rocks to comment on articles like these.
Liz
Whoa! Crazy story. Crazy comments to the crazy story. Unfortunately, we are seeing a LOT of the same story here in Central Florida--Taking WHOLE kitchens/everything and selling them. Yikes. Not sure what is a good solution for it, though.
Sadly, I've heard of this a handful of times in our county as well. Tough times cause people to do crazy and perhaps inappropriate things.
Elizabeth: Not the most well thought out, or even logical, comments made to that article, but entertaining nonetheless. Clearly real estate wasn't working out for him if he felt he had to sell the fixtures in the home he couldn't afford.
I do have to say that anything that came with the home that the mortgage paid for should still be there when the house goes back to the bank.
Hi Elizabeth... it's definitely true... reality is funnier than fiction most of the time! Some of the reader thoughts had me laughing and others had me shaking my head!
Crazy! Makes you truely wonder what are people thinking... or no...
Fraud? What's fraud? Is anyone being arrested or charged for fraud anymore? Seems to be a popular passtime now.
I have asked several banks what they do to prosecute people that strip homes that they are losing the I haven't got a good answer. I am glad someone is trying to make them pay for stripping the house.
Elizabeth,
I love reading comments from people from the shallow end of the DNA pool.
Elizabeth: This sounds like the Strange but True files... Very interesting..
Elizabeth: Most unbelievable! Our son just bought a REO property. The folks lost it, but they still loved it - the instruction manuals were all in the kitchen drawer and the home was in great shape. If he is chasing nickels, i.e.- taking things from the house securing his note, he probably does that in other parts of his life ... missing the big picture. Karma can be tough ... harder than the granite he "scored".
I have heard of some people that have removed everything from their house while their home was listed for sale (short sale), they had removed the all-cabinet and counter top.
Very tough to put oneself in the shoes of someone experiencing foreclosure. Did he just do it for the money or was it a form of revenge? How did he justify it in his mind?
Desperate people do desperate things.
Elizabeth,
Too bad he didn't work for AIG (that way, he could've even stripped his neighbors' homes and gotten away with it, along with a government bailout!!)
By the way...not to be a party pooper, but there are at least two comments in that list that I read here on ActiveRain almost daily.
Yikes!
Dave
Hmm...FBI...geez...I would have thought that wouldn't make their radar screen...I have a few other things that might trump that they could look into....they are the guys who are supposed to be watching lending practices....
Wow. Truth may be stranger than fiction..but not in this case. Totally believable, considering how non-cooperative banks can be when more people are faced with foreclosure than you can reasonably shake a stick at. Of course, he should have known better.
It sounds like the homes we are seeing here in Jacksonville. The number one thing we are seeing missing is the A/C. Good luck getting a buyer financed for that one.
Crazy - Crazy Times we live in. Thanks for sharing post.
One of my clients neighbors did this to his home. My client watched out her window as people came by to take things he posted on craigslist. He sold everything...even the back deck and the retaining wall bricks. The roof shingles were also listed for sale but I don't know if anyone ever came for those. People do crazy things when emotions are involved.
Crazy story for sure! You would think that the FBI would have too much to do these days instead of chasing a practically homeless and desperate Realtor. Just kidding. What was he thinking???
Truth is still stranger than fiction.
I must say though that perhaps the FBI could use some training in prioritizing. How many man hours were spent investigating this one individual for mortgage fraud??
Yet the banks get off Scott Free when they have foreclosed and let a property go to ruin and become a blight on the landscape.
I have no sympathy for the gentleman in this case, but, surely there are bigger fish to fry for the FBI. For instance, the loan modification scammers are out in droves. They would seem to be a better target because that would protect home owners in distress.
Oh well.
I clicked on this blog because just last week one of my agents as me (as his broker) how to handle a situation where a client admitted his intent to strip the house as he moved out due to the short sale. My advice, which my agent followed, was to explain to the client that this would be considered loan fraud since there were provisions in the note the buyer signed using the house as collateral for the loan and agreeing not to essentially damage or remove his collateral. The client refused so my agent walked walk the high road right away from the the listing.
I enjoy peoples different ways to rationalize lying, cheating, and stealing from other people; however, at the end of the day, they are still guilty of lying, cheating, and stealing! Ehtics are not supposed to be situational.
It bothers me that fellow Realtors on this site have rationalized this irrational behavior and a few almost agree even after reading that the FBI acknowledges it is fraud! If they did have a medical issue - see a doctor, not the pawn shop! If they needed the money to buy food - it is free at the local mission or get food stamps!
Anarchy is not the new entitlement program (or is it?).
Elizabeth, the whole world IS nuts! :)
Having sold many foreclosed homes you see a little of everything. I know a lot of good people have lost there home due to circumstances they did not see cumming and had no controlled over. Other times you see people who let there house foreclose but they can still buy alcohol cigarettes and lottery tickets. They also destroyy everything they get. They let dogs and cats use the bathroom all over the carpet never ever clean and never take the trash off.
People say the bank took my house away. They never say I borrowed all this money and did not pay it back. It is time people take responsibility for there own actions. Let us help those who can not help them self but let those who refuse to help them self fend for them self. I do not mind my tax money helping people who get sick or hurt keep there home or help those who have lost jobs due to the economy. Just do not ask for my tax money to pay there mortgage so they can blow there own money on alcohol, cigarettes and lottery tickets.
From what I'm hearing Southern California has an epidemic of this going on. Just makes it tough on everyone but the Rehabbers. Sounds like more jobs are being created. LOL I know it's not a laughing matter but some may call it a stimulus package. LOL
Sorry but i do see some humor in some of the comments made in the article but it is truely a shame for this to be going on.
Geno from Reno
I've often wondered about people who strip the home. I certainly feel bad for them, but that really doesn't justify it.
I also didin't know that some see it as mortgage fraud.
And those comments - wow.
Thanks for posting this.
I agree it's sad to lose your home, however that does NOT excuse this guy's unethical behavior. I know personally homeowners who are losing homes they have put their heart and soul into. Think they're not upset to 'walk away'? However these folks would not dream of vandalizing their own home.
Perhaps it's because I'm in an area of small towns, but while we are seeing some stripping of fixtures, I have yet to come across one that's been intentionally damaged beyond that (and hope I never do).
I've checked and his license has been inactivated. I also had a look at his website. Here's a clue to his character and why perhaps he didn't make it in RE:
"We promise to work 24/7, 365 days on your behalf before and after the close of your dream home or real estate investment. "
I want to scream when I see real estate agents make that sort of claim. What baloney. Unless he has a team (and probably even then), his statement is a patent LIE. When does he sleep?
I suppose next that 'sleep deprivation' will become an excuse for his behavior.
No wonder consumers can have unrealistic expectations about our availability.
Off the soap box, and on with the day. Have a great one, everybody! ;^)
I heard about an agent who gets the REO listing from the bank taking the appliances for their own home- not thinking anyone will really care. The bank doesn't know what's there right? The buyer is buying as is..right?
I think people can convince themselves that what they want to do is ok if they want it bad enough, no matter how un-ethical it is.
In the end..everyone pays in some way for these acts.
[Tom sez: I hope he is no longer licensed to sell real estate.]
His license shows as 'inactive' as of May 3 via the ADRE portal. :)
Candice The Checker ;)
I think it is definitely a prosecutable offense and should be. Many homeowners are losing their homes, some have class, sweep it broom clean, and leave, realizing tey made a mistake, or fortune was against them with a job loss or medical problem.
when people strip their homes, it makes it worse for everyone as a whole. And I'm sick of people not taking responsibility for their actions!
Ah, so many ready to pick up a stone and cast it. There but for the grace of God go I? Have a little compassion for the man. I leave you with this fact - Of the October Hope Program that was designed to help 400,000+ homeowners forego foreclosure, as of April 2009 there have been a grand total of 51 people helped in this program. I ask you what is the bigger travesty of justice?
Charles, with all due respect, it isn't about "what is the bigger travesty of justice?", there is no contest at play. Illegal and wrong are still illegal and wrong even if a skewed "sense of entitlement" comes into play. What about the "sense of entitlement" of the neighbor in the $450,000 home next door who now has a $150,000 comp (stripped trashed home) to deal with. Are you suggesting he should feel compassion for his poor foreclosed neighbor?
I am not sure why you thought this was necessary for posting.
Although I think what he is doing is a crime there is enough of it going on around here to keep the entire FBI busy for years. I posted a blog last month entitled "I've Gone Public with this," on possible solutions for the banks.
Having attended the University of Phoenix myself, I'd tend to agree with the commenter! :-) Great article, thanks for sharing!
Many times, I have enjoyed the comments more than the post. It is surprising that a real estate agent would do this, people do odd things when they are desperate.
Like Lyn, I wondered why you posted this.
Great stuff. Glad to know they are going after them. It is costing all of us in the end when they do this, more taxes, higher insurance rates, and of course the lower value of that REO sale.
Thanks much for the post.
Brenda
There are unscrupulous people in all walks of life. So sorry to see people jump on the "diss real estate agents" bandwagon. It's not as if they're lawyers;-)
I just checked the AZ dept of RE site - his license is inactive as of 5/3/09.
I have a short sale listing under contract that had the renter strip EVERYTHING out of it....Kithchen, fixtures, carpets, switch covers, all high end stuff. He also has the FBI chasing him for bank fraud. Seller who is not living in the house has had do short the loan a long way tho get offers, we shall see what the lender does as far as holding the Seller responsible.
Awhile back Diane Sawyer did an interview with a REO Agent somewhere in CT. He was showing her a absolutely stunning home which appeared immaculate. Except the Previous Home Owners had taken the Appliances. Both Diane and the REO were flabbergasted! I, on the other hand was almost rolling in the Aisles- Where were the kicked in doors, the burnt carpets, died mice, or my favorite the urine on the walls? If the public only knew the truth.....
What I find fascinating is that the FBI is going after the little guy as usual and not afterthe banks that took our taxpayers money to give their upper management people just outrageous bonuses. And then sat back and said what whats wrong with that. Just plain crazy world.
I do kind of feel bad that he felt so desperate> I bet he thought it would never get around. Crazy world out there .
No matter how we feel personally about this individual, the fact of the matter is that he broke the law and now has to face the consequences. Regarding the FBI's priorities, we are all certainly entitled to our opinions, but I'm sure that they didn't have their entire field office on this 1 case. It's part of their job to follow up on these "smaller" lawbreakers, not just the big guys (which, by the way, there are multiple investigations underway regarding our dear bonus-receiving executives). Based on some people's rationalization, we should let anyone that steals food or clothes to be let go if they show financial distress because, after all, food & clothing are 2 basic needs, right? Sorry, I don't buy into that thinking...
Elizabeth: Every part of that story is awful. What he did and the uninformed comments the others made.
Elizabeth,
I am amazed how many comments you got, wow. Agents are people and might have the same percentage of crooks among themself as the rest of the population. So, not real shock.
You're so right --some of the comments out there are stranger than fiction. Truth be told, I sometimes think that about some of the comments on AR. BTW- the way you strung those together made a little story in itself!
It's difficult to determine who is the most nauseating...
The THIEF who blatantly pilfered bank property?
OR
The swarm of VILLAGE IDIOTS who commented?
Carol
www.ActiveSunshine.com
Ah, freedom of speech. God Bless America and those who have no idea what they're saying.
Interesting set of comments on this info. Very educated guesses there! : )