Originally Posted by
Goose
if you are looking at vacant properties there are many things you can do to be safer
- always go with someone else, never alone
- take a walk around the entire outside of the home first and check for kicked in doors or open windows, signs some has been there or is still there
- on the outside check pay particular attention to the porch tops, ive seen so many places where a knife is hidden in easy reach, not sure if this is just coincidence, or a stashed knife by the occupant - "just in case"
- check the electric meter for an illegal jump
- after you check, open ALL the doors, front, side, and rear, and don't go in
- go to the front and yell in the door that you are just an inspector and will be coming in in 10 minutes, this gives the squatter time to gather a few things and run out the back door that you have already opened, also, the open doors give you more fast exit points if you suddenly encounter a hostile occupant
- when you go in, take the pad lock in with you, i've heard stories of people getting locked in the homes
nothing sucks worse than being in the basement of a vacant home and then hearing footsteps upstairs... thank you CCW......
most squatters you encounter are not trying to take over the property, most are drug addicts just looking for a place to sleep out of the weather.....
like other have said, if the current owner has "abandoned" the property, its probably not worth anything and it would be easier for you to just buy the property for $1 and take over the tax bill than try to live unnoticed in the place for 15 years....