Squatters in Detroit?

**ordinary** · November-09-09, 09:15 AM

The alternate title for this thread could be, "Yay, the scum people have finally left!"

There was a group of people who had lived in a house across the street from my mom's for two years. These people had turned the neighborhood into a mess. Crap all over the yard and street, people screaming, yelling, and arguing at 3 O'Clock in the morning. Backing out of the driveway, they knocked my mom's big black garbage can over numerous times and never even got out of the car to pick it up. I swear it was some kind of whorehouse; nicely dressed women jumping into cars with guys. People coming and going at all hours.

My younger brother was in town and he and I were doing a little cleanup at my mom's this weekend and we noticed that the house was quiet and nobody was there. I asked the poor fellow who lived next door to this what the deal was and if they had been renting. He said he was pretty sure that these people had been squatting. They were stealing both electricity and gas. The neighbor had lived there 20 years and he had had it. He's moving to the suburbs soon.

It's a beautiful thing that they're gone but the house is a wreck. How can this stuff go on like this?

**jbd441** · November-09-09, 12:06 PM

Same thing happened to me only the couple across the street had actually purchased the house! They argued all the time and the boyfriend took out his frustration on the house... broken windows, broken in doors, he even smashed the front outdoor lantern. After 3 years and 1 baby later he finally left. The mother supplimented her welfare check by conducting a continuous yard sale 24/7. I finally sold and found out the woman had been foreclosed on. She took everything including her trash!
About the house across the street from your Mom, if they were stealing gas and electricity, it sure took the utility companies a long time to figure out these people weren't paying their bills. Two years seems along time to not shut off the gas and electric for non payment.

**sumas** · November-09-09, 12:47 PM

Oh great, more Detroit bashing. "I've [[insert relative) had problems and I'm moving to the burbs". Ever consider a pro active stance. It is not hard to get rid of squatters that disrupt neighborhood activities.

EastSider · November-09-09, 12:52 PM

Originally Posted by sumas

Oh great, more Detroit bashing. "I've [[insert relative) had problems and I'm moving to the burbs". Ever consider a pro active stance. It is not hard to get rid of squatters that disrupt neighborhood activities.

Stop lecturing people for their choices. Weren't you the one who moved out of the city for "school issues"? Same difference.

And this line, "It is not hard to get rid of squatters that disrupt neighborhood activities" is laughable.

lilpup · November-09-09, 01:09 PM

Originally Posted by jbd441

Same thing happened to me only the couple across the street had actually purchased the house! They argued all the time and the boyfriend took out his frustration on the house... broken windows, broken in doors, he even smashed the front outdoor lantern. After 3 years and 1 baby later he finally left. The mother supplimented her welfare check by conducting a continuous yard sale 24/7. I finally sold and found out the woman had been foreclosed on. She took everything including her trash!
About the house across the street from your Mom, if they were stealing gas and electricity, it sure took the utility companies a long time to figure out these people weren't paying their bills. Two years seems along time to not shut off the gas and electric for non payment.

If they were stealing gas and electricity they weren't being billed.

**Diehard** · November-09-09, 01:29 PM

Originally Posted by lilpup

If they were stealing gas and electricity they weren't being billed.

True. It can take a long time for the utilities to realize there's an illegal connection. They can't determine how long they've been stealing utilities there if there's no lease or records of when they moved in.
It's my understanding that it's the property owner's responsibility to evict squatters, but even that can be difficult under the law if they've been there for awhile. When you consider how many properties are owned by the city or some faraway bank, it's easy to see how that could happen.

**Blueidone** · November-09-09, 01:27 PM

On the utility issue: A friend of mine has a rental property in Detroit. A tenant was stealing electricity. It took DTE over a year to find out, then they billed the property owner...not the renter. The owner found out later that the tenant had a pot farm in the basement. He got stuck paying thousands of dollars for the electricity in order to be able to re-rent the unit with legal electricity. In the meantime, while he was trying to pay the bill, thieves broke into the house at least six times. He was tempted to walk away from it, but didn't. He tries very hard to be a good landlord, but it's very difficult.

As to squatters...unless someone reports them, nothing will be done. And even if you do report them, there is little or no follow-up in the City. And I'm NOT bashing Detroit. It is just the way it is now. Budget cuts, political turmoil, lack of police presence, inept public servants, etc etc have contributed to the problem. Add to that the mortgage crisis and the number of absentee owners who have just walked away from their properties, and you have a recipe for disaster.

**iheartthed** · November-11-09, 02:38 PM

Originally Posted by Blueidone

On the utility issue: A friend of mine has a rental property in Detroit. A tenant was stealing electricity. It took DTE over a year to find out, then they billed the property owner...not the renter. The owner found out later that the tenant had a pot farm in the basement. He got stuck paying thousands of dollars for the electricity in order to be able to re-rent the unit with legal electricity. In the meantime, while he was trying to pay the bill, thieves broke into the house at least six times. He was tempted to walk away from it, but didn't. He tries very hard to be a good landlord, but it's very difficult.

As to squatters...unless someone reports them, nothing will be done. And even if you do report them, there is little or no follow-up in the City. And I'm NOT bashing Detroit. It is just the way it is now. Budget cuts, political turmoil, lack of police presence, inept public servants, etc etc have contributed to the problem. Add to that the mortgage crisis and the number of absentee owners who have just walked away from their properties, and you have a recipe for disaster.

There is a pretty simple solution to that. The landlord could have the utilities turned on in his name [[or the name of the management company that he owns), and incorporate the price of utilities into the rent. Problem solved without walking away from the property.

**softailrider** · November-09-09, 06:40 PM

As far as stealing utilities goes, take a look at all those houses in the city that have those brass colored locks on the meters. There's either a lot of folks living a pretty chilly existence in the winter or they're getting it for free.

**SWMAP** · November-10-09, 09:36 AM

One of the things I did to encourage some squatters to move was to get the water turned off: They were lowlifes who never bothered to go in the backyard [[grill on the front porch, no lawn mower), so I crawled out my basement window one day and turned on the back yard spigot [[there was an old hose attached). The water ran and ran and finally the City came out and turned off the water and put a lot of scrap slag down the shut-off pipe so they couldn't turn it back on. That coupled with the fact that DTE had cut off the electricity at the pole [[because they were jumping it all the time) finally forced them to leave.

Sometimes you have to do things that you aren't exactly proud about - but the noise was terrible, the fights every night, smashed windshields, threats, stripping of stolen cars - all that just 10 feet away. Now house sold to some really nice people. Sometimes things work out.

**Diehard** · November-10-09, 10:52 PM

Originally Posted by SWMAP

One of the things I did to encourage some squatters to move was to get the water turned off: They were lowlifes who never bothered to go in the backyard [[grill on the front porch, no lawn mower), so I crawled out my basement window one day and turned on the back yard spigot [[there was an old hose attached). The water ran and ran and finally the City came out and turned off the water and put a lot of scrap slag down the shut-off pipe so they couldn't turn it back on. That coupled with the fact that DTE had cut off the electricity at the pole [[because they were jumping it all the time) finally forced them to leave.

Sometimes you have to do things that you aren't exactly proud about - but the noise was terrible, the fights every night, smashed windshields, threats, stripping of stolen cars - all that just 10 feet away. Now house sold to some really nice people. Sometimes things work out.

Nice work.

**ordinary** · November-10-09, 08:32 PM

Thanks for the feedback, lots of interesting stories.
EastSider, thanks for coming to my defense there.
Sumas, goodness gracious, I'm really not trying to bash Detroit. We've had these problems in the neighborhood before and it really isn't easy trying to get people to move away. My mom's been there for 50 years and she shouldn't have to put up with stuff like that. I worry about her taking a stray one. We tried the proactive stance before and it didn't really work. Sometimes I fear proactive will get a person hurt or worse.
There are a lot of good people in the neighborhood and this kind of stuff just makes me feel helpless about what to do about it.

**detroitsgwenivere** · November-11-09, 04:04 AM

SWMAP Now thats what I call a smooth move. We here in Corktown have been quite lucky with the squatter issue. If we call the cops about a particular squatter, they usually come to rouse them out. We've been dealing with a large rental property on Spaulding ct. who's owner is being sued by the county's Nuisance Abatement Program, and after talking with the people squatting there, decided to let them stay since having the property inhabited was better than letting sit empty. I know there's over 60,000 tax forclosures on the rolls, and over 20,000 homeless in the city. If we could work out someting with the utility companies, we could have almost a third of these homes put to good use. But I know thats just pie in the sky.....

**sumas** · November-11-09, 06:01 AM

Sorry, Ordinary, I don't like the fact your Mom is intimidated. I did not mean to lecture. Every situation is unique and different.

As for Eastsiders comments regarding moving for school issues, why in the world would I apologize for wanting a good and safe education for my children? The whole time I was gone, I booked mega volunteer hours with east area non profits to bennefit a city I love. Still do a lot of volunteer work. Of my 56 years on earth, 42 have been within the city. I left, I came back.

As to squatters, dealt with this issue over the years. If they are quiet and mind their own business I ignore them. If they are running drugs, parties etc. I make sure they leave.

**sumas** · November-11-09, 06:29 AM

Dear Ordinary,

I re read the thread. My Mom is ninety now. I want to protect her too from everything. It sounds like your Mom is a very humane person and I understand your concern is that she might adopt a lost soul. It is nice to know that our seniors have protective adult children. God bless!

EastSider · November-11-09, 08:34 AM

Originally Posted by sumas

Sorry, Ordinary, I don't like the fact your Mom is intimidated. I did not mean to lecture. Every situation is unique and different.

As for Eastsiders comments regarding moving for school issues, why in the world would I apologize for wanting a good and safe education for my children? The whole time I was gone, I booked mega volunteer hours with east area non profits to bennefit a city I love. Still do a lot of volunteer work. Of my 56 years on earth, 42 have been within the city. I left, I came back.

As to squatters, dealt with this issue over the years. If they are quiet and mind their own business I ignore them. If they are running drugs, parties etc. I make sure they leave.

I'm not looking for you to apologize, just get off your fucking high-horse when it comes to whether people want to put up with the bullshit of city life. Everybody has to decide for themselves and their family.

For you, it was the relatively piss-poor schooling your kids would have received. For somebody else, maybe it's having their car stolen from their own garage. Or their house broken into three times in a year.

I'm not saying you were wrong to do what you could for your family. I'm in EEV, too, and there's no fucking way I'd send my kids to DPS.

What I am criticizing you about is your standard "defend Detroit at all costs" schtick when you, yourself, opted out for a period of time.

**sumas** · November-11-09, 09:11 AM

Wow, you are the one who sounds angry. I love living in EEV, didn't like the burbs at all. No high horse here. I tried to keep my family here. There are good schools in the city. I got tired of the distances I needed to travel to get them to said good schools and when a black school principal said we have some great elementary and high schools but no good middle schools I took the hint. No apologies from me. My kids are grown now and productive well employed Detroit residents.

I have plenty of negative stories I could tell, rape, robbery, theft... take your choice. I don't feed trolls. I prefer to focus on what is good in this city. Mostly good people, good neighbors.

As for squatters, lived in GPP and had a neighbor who tapped into our utilities. It wasn't very funny. The only sadness is we would have run lines for her to get her through hard times. There is a big difference between theft and an honest sharing.

EastSider · November-11-09, 08:41 PM

Originally Posted by sumas

Wow, you are the one who sounds angry. I love living in EEV, didn't like the burbs at all. No high horse here. I tried to keep my family here. There are good schools in the city. I got tired of the distances I needed to travel to get them to said good schools and when a black school principal said we have some great elementary and high schools but no good middle schools I took the hint. No apologies from me. My kids are grown now and productive well employed Detroit residents.

I have plenty of negative stories I could tell, rape, robbery, theft... take your choice. I don't feed trolls. I prefer to focus on what is good in this city. Mostly good people, good neighbors.

As for squatters, lived in GPP and had a neighbor who tapped into our utilities. It wasn't very funny. The only sadness is we would have run lines for her to get her through hard times. There is a big difference between theft and an honest sharing.

I'm not angry, Sumas, just tired of your bullshit.

You try to call people out all the time for speaking of the negatives and want people to be pro-active, yet you moved to the burbs when it was the best situation for your own children. One comment from a principal took all wind "pro-active" wind from your sails?

Why do you think you can make that choice for your family and criticize other people for making that same choice?

**ordinary** · November-11-09, 01:46 PM

Sumas, thanks for your kind words. But I did laugh a bit. When I said I was worried about my mom taking a stray one, I meant an accidental bullet from those rummies across the street!
I love the old city and wish I could do more.

**RickBeall** · November-11-09, 05:36 PM

ordinary wrote:
>>.... When I said I was worried about my mom taking a stray one, I meant an accidental bullet from those rummies across the street!

I was wondering what the heck Sumas was talking about there. Maybe some other folks thought your mom was going to take in a stray cat. ;-)

**wolverine** · November-12-09, 09:02 AM

My question is where did the thread ever start with "Detroit bashing" Not finding that.

**ordinary** · November-12-09, 05:26 PM

Wolverine,
We kind of veered off the path for a while. That's what I like about this forum, you never know where this stuff is going to lead.

Shovelhead,
What an ordeal. Every time I hear the phrase, "one person can make a difference", I think "yes, one jackass can screw things up for everybody".

As for the utilities, the creativity of some of these energy thieves is unbelievable. I swear some people work harder trying to avoid working than they would if they were working. ? I've heard that DTE at one point had 500 million dollars in uncollectables. Maybe the utilities could hire some of these people and learn a thing or two about getting things done.

**shovelhead** · November-12-09, 08:30 PM

And to add to the continuing saga "Why We Wanted the Hell Out of *********"city name deleted as it will not serve any purpose anyway.

The previous issue about the landscaping in the right-of -way had am interesting twist to it also.

In the right of way, approximately two feet from the edge of the road [[gravel) there stood a Box Elder tree, described by the city forester as a junk tree. It died, and there is an ordnance that before any tree is removed, a permit must be issued by the city. So being a good citizen, and also because the dead standing tree is on city property [[which we as the property owner have to maintain) they were notified.

The forester comes out, agrees that the tree is dead, and it can and should be removed. Then I ask him when the city will remove the tree, he informs me that we are responsible for removal and disposal of the tree and the stump. Oh yes, and when we fell the tree it CANNOT block the street.

Well, a couple of neighbors and I cut it down and dropped it right in the street. Better than trying to top it in the poor condition it was in, injuring someone if a limb broke or taking a chance on it falling on my house. We all made up the story if the cops came by, "It got away from us".

And the water runoff problem, well the city offered to fix their screw ups in road maintenance by putting in retention basins, storm sewers and other improvements at a slight cost to the homeowners of only 8 to 10k [[estimated) in 1996 dollars. THAT, my friends went over like a cat turd in the punch bowl! They finally fixed the street the year after we moved out, probably a "glad to get rid of him" [[meaning me) gift to the neighborhood.

I can't blame anyone for just saying "screw it, let's move", for whatever reason you have, it's your reason.