Trashing-Out the American Dream

The Inland Empire, a large area east of Los Angeles, bills itself as "The Heart of Southern California." For years, the region enjoyed vigorous growth supplemented by spillover development from neighboring Orange and Los Angeles counties. Today, growth is not the operative word in the Inland Empire. "Jingle mail" and "trashout" are more appropriate. Jingle mail is what a mortgage lender receives from homeowners who drop their house keys in an envelope, and abandon their home and mortgage payments. Some lenders try to salvage a portion of their investment by short-selling a foreclosed home. For instance, a 5 year old, 4 bedroom house in Beaumont, CA, is being offered at auction with bids opening at $10,000. The failures of creative financing have spawned desperate attempts at solutions.


Foreclosure Alley and the Trashout

John Plocher runs WSR, a real estate sales and management company in the Inland Empire. In the last few years, his company has grown from 3 employees to 73. A prime reason for WSR's growth is the trashout. KCET television correspondent Lisa Ling interviewed Mr. Plocher as one of his crews performed their sad, surreal task.