It Used to Be a Day Job

The far-reaching implications of the nation’s foreclosure crisis continue to snowball a little more every day. In its latest evolution, what started out as the lending industry selling undesirable loans to undeserving/unqualified borrowers who are now going into foreclosure by the thousands, has now filtered down to a lack of jobs for day laborers around the country.

People feel sorry for the distressed homeowners who are losing their homes as their adjustable rate subprime mortgages reset to higher-than-affordable interest rates. And they felt really bad when the story broke about all the pets being left behind by foreclosed homeowners who either couldn’t afford to take the pet with them, or thought someone would find them and take care of them.

But is the American public ready to feel sorry for all those guys who stand on the local street corner day after day, waiting to get picked up by building contractors or homeowners for a day’s work around the house?

According to a recent story by BusinessWeek, consumers (homeowners) are cutting back on spending, affecting contractors who then go out and hire day laborers to dig ditches, landscape and do other labor-intensive jobs. The greatest fear seems to be that many of the more than 100,000 of these workers who are looking for work every day may end up homeless and thus become further open to ridicule for being illegal aliens at a time when illegal immigration is a hot campaign issue during a closely contested presidential race.

As a group, they do have a voice in the form of various organizations, such as the National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON), representing their interests.

This seems to be a tangential effect of the overall foreclosure crisis. But at the end of the day, is it something real estate investors need to concern themselves with when it comes to dealing with homeowners who are in the midst of financial crisis or the banks when buying an REO property?

Maybe, if you’re still trying to flip property and utilize day laborers to help clean up an investment property. Otherwise, probably not, unless these laborers also happen to be homeowners in distress about to lose their homes to foreclosure as well.

What do you think? We’d like your opinions and feedback on this issue. Please make a comment below and let’s get the conversation going.