Another suburban ghost town

[Liberal_in_LA]

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-westview15-2008dec15,0,4511640.story?page=1

Dreams dry up for homeowners in Lancaster's Westview Estates

By Ann M. Simmons
December 15, 2008
The first sign of trouble came almost immediately after Kurt and Michelle Dahlin moved into Lancaster's new Westview Estates in March 2007.

The water slowed to a trickle midway through showering. The toilet tank took two hours to refill. The family often was forced to bathe at 4 a.m. -- before the neighbors awoke and the water flow became a dribble. Some days, there was no water at all.

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In September 2007, the developer halted construction after building only 35 of the 425 homes originally planned. Of those, just 23 were sold.

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The ghost town that Westview has become has been a victim of theft, including air conditioning units and fire hydrants, such as the one stolen here.


Some residents of Westview Estates are eager to forsake their dream homes because of problems with the water system but can't because no one is buying and the homes for which they paid up to $450,000 are worth only half that amount.

[lapfog_1]

1. Double whammy - housing bubble meets Western water bubble. Oops - n/t

[SoCalDem]

2. If they are young and have jobs, they would be better off to just drop off the keys

and move closer to their jobs.. Line up an apartment before they bug out.. and then just bail.. Those houses may NEVER be "worth" what they owe on them..and if they put little or nothing down, they are throwing money down a rat-hole every month..

[LeftyMom]

3. I can't imagine spending that amount of money to live in Lancaster, of all places.

Even if the neighborhood filled up and there were no water issues, you'd still be stuck in Lancaster.

[gaspee]

4. That's what I was thinking

[Newsjock]

6. If those homeowners are so terrified of 'others'

... that they feel the need to move behind in gates in freakin' Lancaster -- and pay $300k to $400k for the privilege of doing so, while commuting who-knows-how-many hours each way to an actual job -- I have a hard time mustering up much sympathy for people who consciously decided to live in such an unsustainable way.

That said, the developer also sounds like a total scumbag, too.

[nc4bo]

7. They're playing the "pass the buck" game - lawsuits on the burner.

Lots of blame to pass around. The buyers, developer, government all share some responsibility.

I wonder what type of loans these people have?

What a mess - going back to read some more.

[Liberal_in_LA]

9. lol. Lancaster gets no respect. But I admit, by Sept 2007 thesse buyers

should have suspected the market was tanking. They could have done better than a mcmansion in lancaster

[Greyhound]

10. Yeah, Phoenix with LA prices and CA laws, what a combination! n/t

[snot]

5. nice photos; i'd like to see more.

[Liberal_in_LA]

8. A few more at the la times link

[snot]

11. Thanks; good job by the photographer.