Foreclosure Flood Means Brisk Business For Phoenix-Area "Home Strippers" - Craigslist A Favored Outlet For Unloading Loot

In Phoenix, Arizona, The Arizona Republic reports on the recent rash of "foreclosure stripping" incidents taking place in the area:

• Julie Halferty, a special agent who oversees the Phoenix FBI Mortgage Fraud Task Force, said no one knows exactly how many foreclosed houses in the Valley have been stripped by former owners, neighbors or strangers. Those who work in real estate believe the number is in the thousands. "Without question, probably 85 to 90 percent of houses on the market under $200,000 have been stripped," said Tempe real-estate agent Kim Baker. "Appliances are the most commonly poached item, but plumbing fixtures and faucets, ceiling fans, light fixtures, water heaters and air-conditioning units are fair game" in the eyes of the strippers, she said. Halferty said she and her fellow FBI agents "haven't been able to quantify it, but we know it is rampant."

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• "Take a look at Craigslist," [one real estate agent] said. "It's full of things that have been stripped out of houses." Halferty said Craigslist.org tipped the fraud task force to the extent of the problem. "It is so blatant," Halferty said. "People would advertise that they were selling cabinets in a foreclosure sale."

For the story, see Theft of fixtures becomes major risk in foreclosures.