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There's a new trend in home buying or should we say 'home stealing?'

Right now there are 60,000 homes for sale in Phoenix, 15,000 of them are vacant.

At least they are supposed to be vacant.

If your home isn't for sale, you know someone whose is. Phoenix neighborhoods are littered with for sale signs.

Some people though are forgetting that in order to live inside you have to buy it.

Sunshine and cacti are everywhere in Phoenix and now you can add 'For Sale' signs to the list.

Whether it's a foreclosure or it's just a home that's sitting on the market, 15,000 of them are vacant and to some that means 15,000 opportunities to get something you didn't pay for.

Mortgage originator Dean Wegner knows all about it.

"It's just a trendy thing to do right now," he said.

Phoenix police don't want us to show you where it happened, but last month, they say Michael Sideman and a woman were caught living in a vacant home in Awatukee.

Among other things, they accidentally set part of the home on fire.

"You had this burglar that broke into the house, occupied it, brought his friends over, they actually went and broke into another house that was also vacant stole items from that house and brought it back to the first house," Det. Cindy Scott said.

Sideman and the woman, Katie Renz, are facing burglary and theft charges. While Wegner said it hasn't happened at one of his homes, he's heard about this trend a lot lately.

"The foreclosure process usually takes months now it can take up to ten months because banks are so far behind so you could literally camp out in and live there rent free for 10 months."

Phoenix police say the community, neighbors who live next to these vacant homes, can help.

"If you see anyone who should not be in the house call police, we need to know they can help us out," Det. Scott said.

If you have a vacant home, make sure you cancel all services, and keep up your lawn.

Also it might be a good idea to turn on a few lights, just make sure the blind are shut.