Home Foreclosures And Arson

Insurance Arson Fire investigators warning Gulf Coast fire departments to watch out for a spike in homeowner arsons in light of national mortgage and home foreclosure crisis

by Pat Peterson

Published: Thu, February 21, 2008 - 5:06 pm CST Last Updated: Thu, February 21, 2008 - 5:10 pm CST

Fire departments across the Gulf Coast are braching for a possible spike in homeowner arson.

"We've seen a 400 percent increase up north involving houses that are just about to be foreclosed and people are collecting insurance on it," says State Fire Investigator Chip Curreri.

Curreri spoke to members of the Lillian Volunteer Fire Department in Baldwin County this week about the potential problem. Curreri says soaring home foreclosures could spark an arson boom.

"I think it's going to get worse, we'll probably see it down here on the Gulf Coast within the next six months," he says.

Gulf Shores Fire Marshal Keith Martin is concerned.

"What will happen is they'll try and find a quick way out of what they see as a problem they can't get out of," says Martin. "And they see arson as a way to do it, they want to burn it, collect insurance money and get out of the hole. We sometimes call it arson for profit."

"Obviously crime isn't an option," says Tracy Schruck, operations manager for Seaside Mortgage in Gulf Shores. "But there are options out there to help homeowners. There are programs out there to put them in a fixed rate, you can also do a loan modification and in some cases, if you've gotten 90 days behind in your note, you can ask for hardship."

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hopeful Says:

Fri, Feb 22, 2008 at 2:40 am

i would hope that people will learn from this current housing crisis,and stop trying to outdo one another and start living within their means.understand everything that is written before you sign on the dotted line,because the bottom line is PROFIT for these lending institutions and it is the uninformed homebuyer that will be left holding the bag,dealing with foreclosure and Bad credit for a long time.