Holy foreclosure, Batman!

It’s no secret that foreclosed homes are sometimes occupied by abandoned household pets and illegal squatters.

But 20,000 Mexican free-tailed bats? That’s a new one.

It’s a serious problem that one small community in Tifton, Ga., is apparently attempting to correct. In the meantime, the putrid smell of massive amounts of “guano” (bat feces) has neighbors closing their windows and locking themselves indoors.

Here is one account from Becky Campbell, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, who lives across the street from the modern-day bat cave:

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CNN.com has the foreclosure “hot spot” list, which goes a little something like this:

1. Spartanburg, S.C.
2. Albuquerque, N.M.
3. Myrtle Beach, S.C.
4. Savannah, Ga.
5. Charlotte, N.C.
6. Tulsa, Okla.
7. New Orleans, La.
8. Virginia Beach, Va.
9. York, Penn.
10. Mobile, Ala.

Two converging trends – unemployment and adjustable rate mortgages — are primarily to blame for the spikes in the cities mentioned above … and likely elsewhere throughout nation.

The 10 cities mentioned above, according to the report, however, have the fastest-growing rates out of the 100 worst-hit places.

To search foreclosed homes for sale in Spartanburg or anywhere else, including in your area, click here.

If you’re the owner (not the borrower) of a foreclosed home in DeKalb County, Ga., you best keep your grass green and your yard clean.

That’s because if it looks to be in disrepair and/or in a state of neglect, the local government will hit you with a $1,000 fine every day until you clean up your mess.

The county means business. And the new laws are set to kick in on Oct. 25, 2010, which gives property owners time to get up to snuff … or else.

If property owners refuse to comply and fail to pay the hefty fines the county will start levying liens, providing it with the opportunity to potentially take ownership of the homes down the road. From there it could “renovate them, sell them and put families, good families, back into homes.”

Unsurprisingly, bankers, investors, attorneys and mortgage holders opposed the ordinance, arguing that it was too excessive. But they do admit to sharing the same goal, which Joe Brannen of the Georgia Bankers Association details via 11Alive.com:

“I think we all have the same goal,” he said, “getting those foreclosed homes dealt with quickly, maintained while they’re in foreclosure, and getting them back on the market and sold quickly…. Traditional lenders are accommodating the rules that are in place, now. They’re maintaining the properties, they’re getting those properties sold as quickly as possible. The county has concerns about other properties that are deteriorating, properties that are not owned by banks but by others such as individual investors.”

To check out the foreclosed homes in DeKalb County or elsewhere throughout Georgia click here.