When properties are abandoned by distressed homeowners, financial troubles often lead these owners to abandon their pets as well. According to real estate agents, homeowners may leave pets behind because they believe this will save them from being euthanized at a pound or because they simply do not wish to continue to care for the animal or cannot afford to[1]. Either way, often the real estate agents handling the property end up dealing with the animals, and it can lead to heartbreak and serious expense.
For this reason, several groups of agents have formed pet rescue groups. Realtors to the Rescue was founded in 2005 in Chicago, while No Paws Left Behind was started in Houston in 2008. Both groups work hard to help the estimated 1 million pets left behind in foreclosed homes, shelters and outdoors find new homes and avoid death by starvation and dehydration[2]. Sometimes, report agents, someone returns to feed the animals or neighbors step in, but often the pets are simply abandoned during the eviction process.
Groups of local agents and realtors have banded together to handle the pet crisis in conjunction with local animal shelters. Have you encountered abandoned pets in your real estate dealings?
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[1] http://realtormag.realtor.org/daily-news/2011/11/21/group-aims-save-pets-housing-crisis
[2] http://realtormag.realtor.org/daily-news/2011/10/27/other-victims-in-foreclosure-crisis-pets
Hi ! FOLKS, Who else but the realtors should handle the pets left behind ? Seems to me that the realtors are for a large part are the cause of those poor souls to lose their homes in the first place ! QUITE A PR move, why don`t all the realtors give back their commissions on the homes being foreclosed on ? Further more why don`t the realtors pro-bono help the current homeowners in default to readjust their mortgages. SEEMS TO ME THERE WOULD MANY MORE FOLKS & THEIR PETS LEFT IN HOMES. I Feel it is incumbent for the folks that caused this problem in the first place, make amends by at least trying to correct the mess their poorjudgement “GREED” caused in the First Place !!