The nation's foreclosure crisis has led to a painful irony for homeless people: On any given night they are outnumbered in some cities by vacant houses, and some street people are taking advantage of the opportunity by becoming squatters.

Foreclosed homes often have an advantage over boarded-up and dilapidated houses abandoned because of rundown conditions: Sometimes the heat, lights and water are still working.

no one keeps numbers of below-the-radar homeless finding shelter in properties left vacant by foreclosure

Many homeless people see the foreclosure crisis as an opportunity to find low-cost housing (FREE!) with some privacy

fresh building" — recently foreclosed — offered the best prospects to squatters

anecdotal evidence — candles burning in boarded-up homes, a squatter killed by a fire set to keep warm — shows the determination of the homeless to find shelter

foreclosed home can be dangerous because the locations can attract drug dealers, prostitutes and, eventually, police