Despite his best efforts to hold on, the foreclosure drag on his community near Lithonia High School became too much for Donavan McArthur.
McArthur, 50, pulled up stakes and bought a new home in an area where fewer homes are vacant, bear foreclosure signs or are rundown with overgrown and littered yards.
“Some of the foreclosed homes are rented out and the renters don’t keep up the homes as well as if they owned it,” he said of his old neighborhood, where he, too, plans to rent his old house but vows he’ll keep it up. “There are a lot of unruly kids and unemployed people who just hang out in the neighborhood now.”
McArthur is one of thousands of metro area residents in foreclosure hot spots who, three years into the real estate bust, have had to face the reality that the market will not rebound soon. Foreclosure notices for the region rose 16 percent in October from September, according to numbers issued last week, although they are down nearly 12 percent year-to-date.
Most people who live in hardest-hit areas don’t have McArthur’s option of moving. Instead they are left with trying to keep property values from falling any further than they already have.
For some — especially those in areas where the foreclosure numbers are highest — that can mean mowing the yard of an empty home to keep the grass from getting too high; for others it means a new hobby as a neighborhood sleuth, finding out any and all information about homes for sale. Some even turn into neighborhood commandos, taking down any house signs mentioning the dreaded “F” word.
Jim Smith mows the lawns of two foreclosed homes in his north Cobb neighborhood along Canton Road.
“I got tired of looking at them and when you call the bank you can’t get any help,” said Smith, 61, who has lived in his neighborhood for 32 years. He added that he fears badly kept yards also cut the chances that the homes will be sold to new owners.
Of the 156 houses in his neighborhood, about 20 sit empty and 10 are for rent. Smith said his property value has fallen $40,000 to $110,000. A house with the same floor plan and square footage near his sold for $54,000 this year, just $10,000 more than Smith’s original purchase price in 1985.
“Between the banks having so many foreclosures and not having any money to keep them up,” Smith said, “you’ve got a glut of empty houses not being maintained by anybody, and it drives the neighborhood down and drives the value of the rest of the homes down.”
It’s also changed priorities for neighborhood associations. Instead of newsletters and pool parties, some focus on keeping any signs of distress at bay.
In Fulton County, where foreclosure notices have also been high, the upscale community the Cascades has been relatively stable so far, said Joan Ross, association president and 18-year Cascades resident.
The quiet swim/tennis community of two-story brick homes, manicured lawns and sidewalks just east of I-285 on Cascade Road has four of its 83 homes in some phase of sale, whether foreclosure, short sale or some other type, she said.
But you won’t see “foreclosure” on the sale signs, and you won’t see any of the homes for sale with unkempt surroundings. Ross and the association ensure that the banks and realtors listing the properties maintain them.
“You don’t want your neighborhood to look like it’s in a state of decline,” Ross said.
Coping with foreclosures is part of the daily business of Dennis Hoffman’s firm, Community Management Associates. The company helps associations in metro Atlanta manage their affairs.
“A homeowners association, with our assistance, tries to decide where their dollars go. You gotta pay insurance, water and sewer and garbage collection; beyond that things are discretionary,” said Hoffman. “Do you open the pool? If you have a gate, do you keep it open or pay the extra expense to keep it closed?”
Before the foreclosure crisis cut into association dues, those questions weren’t issues.
“Back then it was, were you going to have a summer pool party and a Christmas party? How many new trees were you going to plant? And, were we going to change out and put in new landscaping?” Hoffman said.
Donna Friedman, who leads a Sandy Springs condo association, knows all about cutting costs while trying to maintain a community during the foreclosure fallout.
She has no count on the empty properties in her 200-unit Charleston Square Condominium community off Roswell Road, but says the number is much higher than the remaining residents and association board would like.
The board raised its association fees by $5 for 2011, but doesn’t plan an increase going into next year because residents are strapped for cash. Instead, the board is looking at alternative ways to do maintenance. In the past, about three different vendors were considered for projects; now it’s about five. The association also plans a new community newsletter to keep residents informed.
“We’re trying to impress upon people that this is what your money is going for,” said Friedman. “You are maintaining your own lifestyle and the safety and security of the community itself.”
A community lifestyle led Joseph Fannin to College Park 35 years ago.
Since then, the community of older homes off Old National Highway and Surrey Trail in south Fulton County has changed. Some yards are overgrown, some houses are occupied by renters, and others sit empty. Fannin has seen many of his neighbors and friends lose homes or simply abandon them after losing their jobs.
The retired General Motors employee estimates there are at least 10 foreclosures between his street and the next one. For him, coping with the foreclosures is his only option.
“You couldn’t sell these houses now if you almost gave them away,” he said. “I can’t afford to move, so I guess I’ll stay put.”
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