REO on the Half-Pipe

By: DIANA GOLOBAY
June 23, 2009 12:55 PM CST

What do you get when you cross the foreclosure-ridden Fresno market with abandoned homes falling into disrepair and a documentary about skateboarding?

An on-the-streets documentary film like no other.

The concept of skateboarding thrill-seekers draining abandoned pools for use as skating parks is not a new concept. But a documentary of such skateboarders staged among interviews of local housing and mortgage finance experts brings a whole new angle to Fresno , a documentary film by Stephen Payne.

The film focuses on the Fresno housing market and simultaneously studies the history of house price declines in the area since the burst of the housing bubble, the subsequent influx of foreclosures, the resulting abandoned and vacant homes with stagnant pools in the backyards, and the trend of skateboarding crews arriving on the scene to drain, clean and use the pools as miniature, private skate parks.

Payne says he drew inspiration for the film from an article about the foreclosed pool skateboarding scene. The City of Fresno, representing a knowledgeable financial center, provided a logical backdrop for the mortgage expertise needed.

“My film, much like a great Bloody Mary, is something that sounded odd at first yet blended into the perfect cocktail,” Payne tells HousingWire. “The added surprise was that the main skateboarder in my film, Josh Peacock, just bought a foreclosed house. He paid 55% less for this house than its selling price in 2006.”

Watch the trailer here.