A story about a squatter in an upscale neighborhood

**ragnarok1981** · May-08-12, 02:09 PM

Before I go into details I just want to protect the innocent by not giving the name of the neighborhood in question, lets just say it is around 7 mile and Woodward.

Our neighborhood has been hit by foreclosures just like every other community in Detroit, although maybe not as much as some. There is a home that we knew was going to be foreclosed on and we kept a close eye on it to make sure it did not slip through the cracks and end up being destroyed by neglect. So last October we were happy when word got out that the house was purchased and someone had moved in, but our excitement was short lived. Questions immediately started arising because we noticed that the home had never actually gone on the market. The new "home owner" was named Clarence Boykin Jr., and had apparently claimed to be related to the nextdoor neighbor whos name was also Boykin. The neighbors said they had no idea who this guy was so we grew concerned. I called the realtor and found out the house had not been sold and they had no idea who this guy was.

Soon we noticed that Boykin placed heavy black plastic over all the windows to prevent anyone from seeing what was going on inside the house. I began to investigate the land records on the home and soon discovered that this guy had filed a false land contract on the home giving himself title from the previous owner who I had been in contact with and had no idea that this happened. The previous owner had walked away from the home because after years of trying to sell it he gave up and said let the banks have it. When I looked more into the land records I saw that Mr. Boykin was filing fake land contracts for a bunch of houses so I immediately alerted the authorities to the situation in the hope that they would get him out right away. That was November, and it is now May and he is still there.

A few months ago I was keeping tabs on another vacant home in the neighborhood and it suddenly went off the market and low and behold Mr. Boykin had filed another fake land contract. So that made two houses that he had essentially stolen from the banks. In addition to the land contracts, he filed a bizarre document with the wayne county land records office stating that the homes he was occupying were actually in Highland Park and not in Detroit, so therefor the Detroit authorities had no jurisdiction over him. This just added to the idiocy of the situation and drew out the length of time this was taking to get him out.

Finally after months of begging the cops, the prosecutors, anyone in authority in the county and city to do something, we found a police officer who cared and was willing to aid us in this fight. And I want to clarify that this is a fight because we have seen how a person can destroy a house and we did not want to see that happen again and it was highly likely that this was happening. So finally it is now like 8 months of having this criminal occupying a home in our neighborhood and he has yet to be evicted, yet to be arrested. We can only hope that this happens soon before he can damage the home any further. I know those who read this will be asking where the owner of the home was in all this. Well as I stated he chose to walk away, but the banks still chose to let the redemption period run out and that was until March and we could not get them to speed things up even with the former owner telling them what the situation was. The home has in essence become an innocent victim to the miles of red tape in our current crazy system of economics and the way our government is slow to take action over anything.

There are a few reasons why I chose to share this story with all of you. The first is to alert the greater community to the threat that this individual represents because he has done this all over Wayne county, and I would bet he did it in other counties as well. I also wanted to share my concern over the foreclosure reporting websites such as realtytrac.com. It is my belief that Mr. Boykin was targeting homes based on websites such as this to file these fake land contracts because he probably figured he could get away with it since the foreclosure mess was such a mess and homes get lost in all the paperwork all the time. Lastly I wanted to write this because I have been frustrated at the lack of interest from law enforcement when we begged for help. When we would call the police we were lucky if they would ever show up, and often times those who took our calls would yell at us as if we were wasting their time. This whole thing has been aggrivating to an extreme because we all know if you let something like this happen in your neighborhood, it is like a cancer that can spread and kill your neighborhood. I know that there are people who might criticize this account because the neighborhood is upscale, but we fight hard for our right to have a good place to live and this fight has been one of the worst, [[except maybe the infamous Romney house).

**SWMAP** · May-08-12, 02:29 PM

Please see this article in today's Detroit News for an idea of who/what is willing to tackle financial and property scams like the one you describe:

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/2...xt|FRONTPAGE|p

**swingline** · May-08-12, 02:34 PM

Ragnarok, there are lots of lawyers living in your neighborhood. One of them should be able to cobble together a nuisance lawsuit on behalf of immediate neighbors and the neighborhood association naming Mr. Boykin and the bank as defendants. Once the court orders the bank to take control of the property it owns and secure it from squatters, the bank will act. In fact, the bank will probably get off the dime as soon as it gets served with the lawsuit. It shouldn't be necessary to go to those lengths, but what choice do you have? Get some of those neighborhood lawyers to step up and provide some pro bono time.

**corktownyuppie** · May-08-12, 02:40 PM

Originally Posted by ragnarok1981

Before I go into details I just want to protect the innocent by not giving the name of the neighborhood in question, lets just say it is around 7 mile and Woodward.

Our neighborhood has been hit by foreclosures just like every other community in Detroit, although maybe not as much as some. There is a home that we knew was going to be foreclosed on and we kept a close eye on it to make sure it did not slip through the cracks and end up being destroyed by neglect. So last October we were happy when word got out that the house was purchased and someone had moved in, but our excitement was short lived. Questions immediately started arising because we noticed that the home had never actually gone on the market. The new "home owner" was named Clarence Boykin Jr., and had apparently claimed to be related to the nextdoor neighbor whos name was also Boykin. The neighbors said they had no idea who this guy was so we grew concerned. I called the realtor and found out the house had not been sold and they had no idea who this guy was.

Soon we noticed that Boykin placed heavy black plastic over all the windows to prevent anyone from seeing what was going on inside the house. I began to investigate the land records on the home and soon discovered that this guy had filed a false land contract on the home giving himself title from the previous owner who I had been in contact with and had no idea that this happened. The previous owner had walked away from the home because after years of trying to sell it he gave up and said let the banks have it. When I looked more into the land records I saw that Mr. Boykin was filing fake land contracts for a bunch of houses so I immediately alerted the authorities to the situation in the hope that they would get him out right away. That was November, and it is now May and he is still there.

A few months ago I was keeping tabs on another vacant home in the neighborhood and it suddenly went off the market and low and behold Mr. Boykin had filed another fake land contract. So that made two houses that he had essentially stolen from the banks. In addition to the land contracts, he filed a bizarre document with the wayne county land records office stating that the homes he was occupying were actually in Highland Park and not in Detroit, so therefor the Detroit authorities had no jurisdiction over him. This just added to the idiocy of the situation and drew out the length of time this was taking to get him out.

Finally after months of begging the cops, the prosecutors, anyone in authority in the county and city to do something, we found a police officer who cared and was willing to aid us in this fight. And I want to clarify that this is a fight because we have seen how a person can destroy a house and we did not want to see that happen again and it was highly likely that this was happening. So finally it is now like 8 months of having this criminal occupying a home in our neighborhood and he has yet to be evicted, yet to be arrested. We can only hope that this happens soon before he can damage the home any further. I know those who read this will be asking where the owner of the home was in all this. Well as I stated he chose to walk away, but the banks still chose to let the redemption period run out and that was until March and we could not get them to speed things up even with the former owner telling them what the situation was. The home has in essence become an innocent victim to the miles of red tape in our current crazy system of economics and the way our government is slow to take action over anything.

There are a few reasons why I chose to share this story with all of you. The first is to alert the greater community to the threat that this individual represents because he has done this all over Wayne county, and I would bet he did it in other counties as well. I also wanted to share my concern over the foreclosure reporting websites such as realtytrac.com. It is my belief that Mr. Boykin was targeting homes based on websites such as this to file these fake land contracts because he probably figured he could get away with it since the foreclosure mess was such a mess and homes get lost in all the paperwork all the time. Lastly I wanted to write this because I have been frustrated at the lack of interest from law enforcement when we begged for help. When we would call the police we were lucky if they would ever show up, and often times those who took our calls would yell at us as if we were wasting their time. This whole thing has been aggrivating to an extreme because we all know if you let something like this happen in your neighborhood, it is like a cancer that can spread and kill your neighborhood. I know that there are people who might criticize this account because the neighborhood is upscale, but we fight hard for our right to have a good place to live and this fight has been one of the worst, [[except maybe the infamous Romney house).

Agree with both of the above. Andrew Arena and Co. will move on this fast. The other thing is that the police can't do anything because they are there to enforce the law but not to interpret the law, and this situation has moved from being a trespassing incident to a legal dispute. Cops won't touch that with a 10-foot pole.

Here's something else that you might consider while doing the above. At this current point in time, the legal owner is technically still your old neighbor, as the deed has not been transferred from his name. Have your neighbor enter in a contract to rent the property to you. Then both your old neighbor [[as the owner) and you [[as his tenant) should both call the police and report the person for trespassing. Then you should hire an off-duty cop to accompany you to have a locksmith change all the locks. You have just as much [[actually more) standing to do so than he does.

Two can play at his game. And you'll emerge victorious in the long run.

**SWMAP** · May-08-12, 02:52 PM

Because the new guy has filed a false document re title - he can be prosecuted - unsure by who but perhaps the Title company will want to maintain clear title lines and they should be contacted. You can ususally find the Title Company of last resort in the property records.

**ragnarok1981** · May-08-12, 02:54 PM

Our neighborhood lawyers have been hard at work on this and unfortunately the bank is a certain government run bank with a feminine name. They would lose to a snail in a race given how slow they have been to do anything about this. The other issue is that the squatter really likes to use the legal system and we have had to tread carefully in order to avoid frivolous lawsuits that would just be a waste of time and money.
We also considered asking the former owner to give us control of the property but then realized that we would then be responsible for back taxes and other issues that we did not want to get saddled with.
One thing that is almost laughable in this whole thing is that the squatter is a preacher, or at least claims to be one. He seems to forget a lot of that "though shalt not steal" and other moral codes from the bible.
The guy is clearly insane and what really amazes me is that you would think with all the vacant homes in this city, chosing one in a neighborhood like mine would probably be the last place you would pick because it would draw so much attention. Sadly this is not the first time this has happened either. Last year we had a soverign citizen squatter take over a house. That was a scary incident too because the guy was armed to the teeth and had no regard for anyone. Started building this huge privacy fence on the neighbors property and caused a lot of trouble before we got him out and arrested.

The other thing that really bugs me in all this mess is that the county does nothing to verify the documents being filed with them to ensure that they are not fraudulent. I very much doubt they even asked for id of both parties on any of the land contracts, and they would never have been questioned had we not stepped up and said hey this is bs.

**Detroitgayhistoryguy** · May-08-12, 02:55 PM

email Charlie LeDuff, sounds like a good story for him. The attention might get results.

**Detroitgayhistoryguy** · May-08-12, 02:59 PM

Wait a minute, Boykin, is this the preacher with the really, really, really tacky TV program?

**ragnarok1981** · May-08-12, 03:03 PM

He has a tv program? if he does I would love to see it cause he is a loon.
He filed all these documents stating that the house is in Highland park because it has a 48203 zip code. Granted a lot of the zip code lies in Highland Park, but the house is over a mile from the city limits, not to mention the 12th precinct is only a few blocks away. He seems to think that Detroit built a police station in Highland park or something. I just want to see his ass thrown in jail, and all the crap he moved into the house thrown into the garbage. Then I want to see the trial because I know it would be some good entertainment.

**SWMAP** · May-08-12, 03:16 PM

He has "New Beginning Ministries" which is tax-exempted.
He has been in court recently over Mortgage Electronic Registery but I'm not sure what it all means:

http://dockets.justia.com/docket/mic...v15308/264823/

**drjeff** · May-08-12, 03:21 PM

Google found this: http://www.tatepublishing.com/bookst...-1-60604-601-2

**SWMAP** · May-08-12, 03:21 PM

Ohmygosh! He's all mixed up with same people Ridgeabilly is with - the people who want moratorium NOW on mortgages. See thread on National Day of Protest in the recent postings.

Boykin has several cases in court right now and it looks like FANNIE MAE is suing him.

**socks_mahoney** · May-08-12, 03:21 PM

I'm sorry Ragnarock but I think you need to readjust your perception here. The owner of the house walked away after a fruitless attempt to sell it. Perhaps he was asking too much, chances are his mortgage was way more than the home is worth now. Can't blame the guy really. The banks though, could do no better. No one was buying the home at the price it was being offered.

Your neighbors, fearful of scrappers and vandals, watched the house closely. Now someone moves into the house and presumably will not be removing the pipes or the wiring as he is living there and you complain?

Just be happy the house is occupied by a god-fearing Christian and not drug dealers. So he put up black bags on the windows...maybe he is making improvements to the house and doesn't want criminal to see what is inside? Maybe he is growing some medical marijuana.

I fail to see how this man is hurting the neighborhood, other than maybe marginally damaging already decrepit housing values. Shit, if he wasn't there maybe someone may have gotten the copper already and the home [[and the ones around it) would really be worth next nothing. Many people in this city would be proud to have squatters like this man as a neighbor. Buck up. It could be much much worse. Be a good neighbor, bake some cookies and go and introduce yourself, you might even end up liking the guy.

**SWMAP** · May-08-12, 03:27 PM

So Socks is on the scam too! he is one of the organizers of the Moratorium Now effort.

**ragnarok1981** · May-08-12, 03:30 PM

Umm no he has caused damage to the house, there are piles of debris everywhere and he is not maintaining the house or property at all. There are major issues with the exterior woodwork and the lawn has yet to be mowed this year. He also has an extensive criminal background with convictions for armed robery. Not exactly the kind of person you want living nextdoor to you.
Also I would add that the previous owner walked away after renting the home for some time. He had not lived there for quite some time if at all. To say that we should be wellcoming the guy is insane, he is a criminal, it is not like he just moved in, he created all sorts of bogus paperwork giving himself title and I might add that said paperwork gave him title for very small amounts of money which would then hurt other residents home values.
If someone wants to take over a home that the banks dont want and there is no chance of it being sold, then go for it, lord knows the city needs people willing to move here, but that was not the case with this house. The guy just took over before the bank even got title to the house.

**Detroitgayhistoryguy** · May-08-12, 03:40 PM

Sounds like a nice juicy story for Charlie LeDuff. I'll email it to him myself.

**Gistok** · May-08-12, 03:40 PM

Originally Posted by socks_mahoney

I'm sorry Ragnarock but I think you need to readjust your perception here. The owner of the house walked away after a fruitless attempt to sell it. Perhaps he was asking too much, chances are his mortgage was way more than the home is worth now. Can't blame the guy really. The banks though, could do no better. No one was buying the home at the price it was being offered.

Your neighbors, fearful of scrappers and vandals, watched the house closely. Now someone moves into the house and presumably will not be removing the pipes or the wiring as he is living there and you complain?

Just be happy the house is occupied by a god-fearing Christian and not drug dealers. So he put up black bags on the windows...maybe he is making improvements to the house and doesn't want criminal to see what is inside? Maybe he is growing some medical marijuana.

I fail to see how this man is hurting the neighborhood, other than maybe marginally damaging already decrepit housing values. Shit, if he wasn't there maybe someone may have gotten the copper already and the home [[and the ones around it) would really be worth next nothing. Many people in this city would be proud to have squatters like this man as a neighbor. Buck up. It could be much much worse. Be a good neighbor, bake some cookies and go and introduce yourself, you might even end up liking the guy.

For someone who doesn't even know what is going on behind the black windows... you sure are pretty presumtuous...

Since this is a nicer neighbor hood, how do you know he's not stripping paneling, fixtures, fireplaces, et al?? You don't!

This guy probably knows that he doesn't have a legal way to stay in this residence long term [[except via stalling tactics)... so how can you assume that he will give it tender loving care?

Last time I checked... squatters don't generally do that...

**SWMAP** · May-08-12, 03:43 PM

I say it again: Socks Mahoney, Ridgeabilly both know this guy because he is the Moratorium Now with them. You can see it if you look him up in Google.

Socks posting in his defense because they advocate what he is doing.

**Detroitgayhistoryguy** · May-08-12, 03:59 PM

Also, can you see the electric and gas meters? Is the electric meter there? or is it jumped? Call DTE and tell them you've got a squatter, ask them if the bill is being paid on this address, if it is not being paid and is supposed to be currently turned off, then it is utility theft, they will come out and shut it off. Same thing with the water, check and see if the water should be on or not, if not, report it to the water dept as theft, they will also come out and shut it off.

**SWMAP** · May-08-12, 04:19 PM

WARNING: I had a squatter next door to me. Since I knew that the entire meter had been ripped off by the former foreclosed owner I was surprised when squatter had lights. Knowing not enough about meters, I went over to yard when squatter not home and observed two long nails in empty meter box, one on each side - and I was curious about those big nails, one going one way and the other facing the other way. Luckily I did not touch them. I later found out that is what a "jump" looks like and if I touched it I would be toast.

The things we have to learn to deal with the meltdown in Detroit!

**Detroitgayhistoryguy** · May-08-12, 04:31 PM

Even if there is a meter, they still could be stealing. Call DTE's theft dept and tell them the story. This is very common among squatters, stealing utilities. It is also often your best chance to get rid of them. Keep reporting the theft and getting it turned off. Same with the water. No water or electric tends to make them move on.

**SWMAP** · May-08-12, 04:42 PM

I have a friend whose brother is a DTE theft investigator. He is told that many, many thousands of buildings in Detroit stealing power. It will, no doubt, be a long time before they get to any one house.

As well, the DTE people who go out to cut power off at the pole so thieves can't jump the meter again have to have DTE security accompany them and those people are armed because DTE employees shot at routinely.

**Detroitgayhistoryguy** · May-08-12, 04:52 PM

Good info SWMAP, but still best to get the ball rolling if they are stealing power. A friend of mine had a foreclosure next to him and thieves stole the pipes and water was running in the basement, filling it up half way. We called the water dept and they showed up within 1 hour and shut it off. Work the water angle as well, it's really damn hard to live without water!

**ragnarok1981** · May-08-12, 05:14 PM

Some of us were curious as to what was going on so we propped a ladder up to peer in at a spot where the plastic was not covering. That is how I know what was going on inside. As for the utilities, they were cut off at the street because he would not allow them to come near the house.
There is a warrant out for his arrest, but the catch is that they have to catch him first, and the response time for the police is agonizingly slow despite being so close to the 12th precinct.

I also want to clarify what was said regarding the previous owner walking away. The reason he gave up was because he could not get anywhere near the amount he put into it. He probably bought the house for 400k and now he would be lucky to get a third of that.