Abandoned Homes Chock Full of Surprises

Bitter Homeowners Taking Everything Including The Kitchen Sink

The Orlando Sentinel's Mary Shanklin says dirty pools and uncut grass were the biggest problems associated with Central Florida abandoned homes just a year ago. Today, Shanklin says the problems run deeper than just unsightly exteriors. Peering in the windows of some abandoned Orlando area homes today is like watching a horror movie. Thousands of dead bees, smeared feces on the walls and dying rodents in the attics are a few of the treats foreclosure clean-up crews are finding. Some proactive homeowners are even hiring contractors to strip their homes down to the baseboards prior to bank reposession. Shanklin describes the increasingly familiar scene inside a million-dollar Windermere home: "Inside the house, the custom-made kitchen cabinets, granite counter tops, appliances, switch plates, toilets, crown molding — everything of value — has been stripped from the floors, ceilings and walls. There's a gaping hole in the former kitchen where the counter-top island had been. The master tub with burnished bronze faucet has been ripped from its casing." (Photo Gallery)