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.

**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.

**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.

**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.

**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.

**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.

**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.

**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.

**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.

**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. ;-)

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?

**shovelhead** · November-11-09, 10:38 PM

We lived in our last house for fifteen years, it was within seven years of being paid off.
And this was in a suburb, no Detroit bashing here. But we had valid reasons for moving at least in our eyes.

Starting in the late 90's, the neighborhood started changing, and not in a racial way, but a class way. And please understand, I'm no goody two shoes, some of my friends that would regularly show up were patch holders [[bikers). But also I respect my neighbors peace and quiet. I rode then and now, and while I would come in and go out at all hours I didn't raise hell on my scoots either. Unlike the guy that bought the house kitty-corner from me at the rear of my lot. He illegally built a deck the size of his postage stamp size lot and had loud parties every weekend night in the summer. Thank God for central air and lots of insulation in the walls. Or the one at the other corner of my lot and directly behind my neighbors house. He regularly hosted parties that were busted by the cops, open bonfires in violation of the city burn ordnance, and a place where underage drinkers were welcome. We tried talking to him in a reasonable not aggressive manner,it went to my neighbor promising him a ass-kicking, I just dropped the police chief's name as he was a personal friend of mine and told him to expect more heat. He moved out shortly after, guess he didn't like the uninvited guests with the silver shields and Glocks.

When some other long time property owners moved out, their houses were sold to speculators as rentals. Then the fun really began. Chasing their kids out of my yard. their dog never on a leash or chain and dumping a load on my sidewalk, etc. We called the cops several times on them for dog violations, it would work for about a hour or so. Not to mention the trash they would leave outside, mattress along the roadside, it goes on and on. Talk to the landlord, all he cared about was getting his rental money on time. When they moved out, he had some heavy duty work to do inside and out, at least three inside doors were outside with holes punched in them

And the city, well might as well talk to the wall. I got into a pissing match with them over water runoff from the street. They got even by a violation notice for landscaping in the right of way, even though the houses across the street did the same thing they did not get a violation. So what was up with that? And to cite more of their ineptness, they issued me a notice of pending violation on the property AFTER we sold it and transferred all ownership to the new resident and their mortgage company. How's that for good and accurate record keeping?

In the early part of this decade, we finally had enough, seeing the neighborhood go from 17 houses, only one rental to six rentals, the handwriting was on the wall.
We sold, moved and didn't look back.

As a final note, between the time we entered into the purchase agreement in the late 80's and the closing, we drove by the house and was greeted by a hand painted sign, NO CRACK AVAILABLE IN THIS NEIGHBORHOOD. A house one street away had been busted for selling Crack, rumor was it was still available nearby at other houses. In fact, one of my cousins who was trouble was friends with the accused. We were committed to buying it though, so we and our neighbors cleaned up the neighborhood and watched out for each other. But as time passed, people moved on, atmosphere changed. And at a certain point in life, you get tired of fighting windmills. See where it got Don Quixote..........

**sumas** · November-12-09, 08:34 AM

Thank you Ordinary for a good laugh. When I think of strays, I think of cats, dogs and people I collect. My suburban relatives shudder when I come for holiday dinners. The entourage I bring is generally interesting. Gun fire is not a laughing matter however.

Eastside, give it a rest. I am not a minister and have no bully pulpit. I like my city and am happy here. I don't wear rose tinted glasses and see many issues that affect this city and elsewhere. I am happy to say that my heart never left this city and I have been consistently engaged in working for change. I work hard to make it better.We live and invest in the same community. If you don't like my pro city statements I can't help that. I don't like Detroit bashing, so what. I have lived in a few burbs and didn't find life or people much different. Squatters exist everywhere.

**sumas** · November-12-09, 08:53 AM

Shovelhead, I get your allusion battling windmills. Sometimes a person needs to pull up stakes and move on. I don't resent people for moving to the burbs or a place that is more comfortable. I dislike Detroit Bashing. Everywhere I have lived I find good people. Detroit is no exception.

**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.