REO Managers Take Advantage of New Technology.(Real Estate Owned)

Jacksonville -- It starts in a neighborhood when lights everyone is used to seeing on at night suddenly are off, and the neighbors start missing familiar voices and vehicles on the block. Another house goes dark, then another on the next street over, and then another one at the end of the cul de sac.

Properties vacant as a result of foreclosure are becoming more common on residential streets around the country, but the problems for both neighbors and lenders are just beginning.

It's fast turning into a jungle out there, with all sorts of predators looking for opportunities in America's vacant houses.

The first expectation for anyone responsible for vacant real estate is that homeless people will seize the opportunity to have a warm place to sleep. They call themselves "bandos" and are naturally drawn to abandoned houses.

"Many homeless people see the foreclosure crisis as an opportunity to find free, low-cost housing with some privacy," according to Brian Davis, director of the

Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless. The power is often still on, he added, which keeps the intruders from having to light candles or even fires to keep warm.

But for REO managers, the homeless are far from the biggest problem. Often the homeless are too intimidated to stay in foreclosed properties due to the risks posed by drug dealers, prostitutes, gangs, the police and even copper thieves who will strip all available pipes and fittings for the easily marketable metal.