Dreams for Sale: Lehigh Acres and the Florida Foreclosure Crisis (1/3)

http://www.dreamsforsalemovie.com

Welcome to Lehigh Acres, Florida.

Half-built homes litter the seemingly endless grid of half acre plots in a town built entirely on speculation. Dreams were built on the promises of Lehigh Acres, where the social benefits of a wholesome American town were second only to the vast economic potential of affordable land ownership. It was about fulfilling the American dream on dirt plots in southwest Florida.

For decades, things went roughly according to plan. By the mid-2000s, however, the dreams that were sold as half-acre lots to unsuspecting Midwesterners had turned into gold, surging in price at breakneck speed. And then, like a game of musical chairs, the music stopped.

DREAMS FOR SALE traces the bittersweet story of the rise and fall of Lehigh Acres, told through the eyes of its citizens. It is a tale of hope and despair, of prosperity and loss, and of memories and dreams.

Directed and Produced by Raymond A. Schillinger

Special Production Assistance by Luke Kosar and Thomas Keenan

(c) Decade Worldwide, Inc. 2010. All Rights Reserved.

Category:

Film & Animation

Tags:

• Lehigh Acres
• Foreclosures
• Florida
• Mortgage Fraud
• Economic Crisis
• Documentary
• Recession
• Real Estate
• Indie Film
• property
• economy
• homes
• csi

[MclovinIrishRnB]

when did this film take place, does this still reflect lehigh today?

[DreamsForSaleMovie]

@MclovinIrishRnB The majority of the interviews and street shots were filmed during 2009. Having visited Lehigh just a few weeks ago, I can assure you that it very much reflects Lehigh today.

[wpurplepoet]

A stunning and true tale for those of us caught in the grip of this tragedy. I am a 30 year Lehigh Acres resident and have seen my small family oriented town transformed into an endless treadmill of greed and despair. And now even before the final dust has settled, yet again the vultures (investors) have found countless new opportunities to capitalize on the losses of the fallen.

Dreams for Sale. Dreams for Sale. Nothing left but Dreams for Sale.

[DreamsForSaleMovie]

@wpurplepoet Well put. Thanks for watching and for your profound comment.

[kapesun]

Fabulous. Thank you so much for making this video. It really sums it up well what all has happened here, plus I never knew that background story on Lehigh so that was nice to learn. I may just send links to all my northern friends and family of this. Nice piece.

[DreamsForSaleMovie]

@kapesun Thanks for watching!

[xxxthechadxxx]

Badass Zombie sets

[tacomeatjrsk8er]

Lehigh the worst greatest place in the world.

[doordangle]

obama is jst another puppet for the illuminati , if he tried to do anything good , he wld be asasanated like J F kenady.. glad i dont live in the usa

[TheLadandLass]

human greed

play you pay!

[bigdots49]

Lehigh use to be pretty and clean. But the same people that kept like that moved away!

[FloridaFuture]

Great video depicting what happened & what is STILL happening; Lehigh Acres definitely has a long way to go overall but there are pocketed neighborhoods that do not look abandoned but values have decreased all over our entire area. This has become a great opportunity for first time homebuyers and investors alike in the past couple of years.

[FloridaFuture]

Great video depicting what happened & what is STILL happening; Lehigh Acres definitely has a long way to go overall but there are pocketed neighborhoods that do not look abandoned but values have decreased all over our entire area. This has become a great opportunity for first time homebuyers and investors alike in the past couple of years.

[DrHollywoodTeeth]

I am from Munich, Germany and I spent a wonderful 2-week holiday in Lehigh Acres in 2002. I just was searching to find videos to bring back some memories of my great holiday and I am very sorry to see this happening...

I don't remember any abandoned houses in 2002 and I think those ghost town pictures are pretty sad. Does it look like this in all of the streets now or are there areas where all the houses are lived-in?