LIVONIA, Mich. (WXYZ) — Livonia police believe some crooks have been targeting homes that are for sale. Over the last two weeks, they say two homes that are on the market were broken into.
Scott MacKenzie's family owns a company that renovates and sells properties. One of the properties, located on Farmington Road, was broken into.
"It's very disappointing," MacKenzie said. "You put a lot of time and effort into rebuilding the house and making it nice for someone to buy."
He says the crooks smashed off the real estate lock box on the front door, broke it off and used the key to get inside.
An estimated $6,000 in appliances were stolen, including the dishwasher, range and AC unit.
Livonia police say there was another break-in at a house for sale on Hathaway.
That's where they say thieves got away with a water heater and furnishings. Investigators believe both cases are connected. They also think the crooks are using real estate websites to search for what they want to steal.
"I think these suspects are going on and canvassing sites," says Capt. Ron Taig with the Livonia Police Department. "They can see homes are vacant... you can see high end appliances and other things that are in the home that are obviously drawing attention."
Police encourage everyone to have some kind of security system and/or cameras in place. It's something MacKenzie says they'll be doing.
If you have any information on who's behind the break-ins, please call Livonia police.
