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Repo Men Reaping Rewards In Bad Economy

Repossessions Up 10 Percent This Year

POSTED: Tuesday, November 18, 2008
UPDATED: 7:21 am CST November 18, 2008

Repo men around the country are working harder than ever before.

One repo man told Las Vegas TV station KVVU that it was always an exciting and dangerous job, but now their work is exacerbated by so many people going broke.

Economy Keeps Repo Man Busy

"Volume-wise, business has doubled," said Justin Zane, co-owner of Zane Investigations.

One of Zane’s main services is repossessing property.

"Our clients are the banks -- lenders, finance companies," Zane said.

KVVU Reporters joined Zane recently as he took a car in Las Vegas.

"We're coming into these apartments where a spotter located a car we've been looking for. It’s supposed to be on the backside of the building here. She followed the guy for 45 minutes this morning. This is where he parked it. We're hoping the car is still there," Zane said.

Zane said he was looking for a newer model Dodge Neon.

Zane located and verified the car. It only took about a minute for his truck to grabs a hold of the vehicle, but he was on the lookout for anyone coming.

"It's been a little more dangerous as of late because now, we are down to stealing people's primary property -- primary modes of transportation," he said.

Later that night, Zane wet back out on a nighttime recovery.

He said he had tracked a man for 85 days who was five to six months behind on payments on a Hyundai Elentra. The target's family was helping to track him down in North Las Vegas.

Zane spotted the car, waited for people to move away from it, attached the car and was gone in less than 45 seconds.

He said he may repossess between 20 to 30 cars a day lately.

Nationwide, repossession have gone up 10 percent this year, and they are projected to go up 10 percent next year. According to Zane, Nevada is one of the leaders, based on foreclosures and the job market.

"A lot of people are embarrassed -- take a defensive stance. In general, most people know we're coming. They've talked to the bank, and the bank told them, 'If you don't pay, we'll be coming,'" Zane said.

Zane said he has been reclaiming motorcycles, boats, semi-trucks and more expensive cars due to the high cost of gas and the economy.

"Before it used to be mid-range … We're talking a lot of high end cars," Zane said.

He said with the economic crisis, basically everything, and anything, is fair game.

To avoid repossession, Zane recommended those in danger of it voluntarily turn in their vehicles.

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