Renter Stripping rental home

**Taxpayer7** · September-21-10, 07:01 PM

Hello Detroityes board. If you recall a few months ago, I posted a thread asking for help for someone renting who did not know the home was in foreclosure and later was told she had to move. Given ample time to move, I was very surprised that on her move day, the entire kitchen was being stripped by what appeared to be a friend of the family, who owns a home improvement company [[the van had visited there before and there were signs on the van); she apparently sold the "newly remodeled kitchen" to these guys. They were in and out in about an hour. My neighbor called the DPD; they arrived about 4 hours later. Upon arrival, we were told unless they were able to catch folks in the act of stripping a home, there's nothing they can do [[hardly likely they would have caught these guys arriving 4 hours after the initial call). My neighbors and I are very concerned about the viability of our neighborhood. There doesn't appear to be any recourse to stop the stripping; particularly when someone legitimately has a key to enter the property...even if it's for a short duration while they complete their move. We live in what most perceive as a very nice working class area in Detroit and it's very painful to see people stripping the homes and inherently depreciating the neighborhoods value. My one neighbor, who has invested a lot in her property; as well as I; was so upset, she said for the first time since Detroit's decline, she seriously contemplated moving; not necessarily to the suburbs because they have the same problem; but perhaps to a condo, or maybe even another state. We are desparate for a resolution and would appreciate any guidance or feedback Detroityes may have. This is a problem that is only getting worse with time; and residents are desperate to take action and stop the pillaging of the homes in our great neighborhoods. Again, the emphasis in this thread is related to legitimate renters moving out who still possess a key and can return day after day and sell off the home's assets to any willing buyer; until the bank/owner repossesses the key or pad locks the premises. This is so very, very discouraging.

**canuck** · September-21-10, 07:14 PM

This 4 hour business waiting for the police is bullshit. It is unacceptable by any standard. In any case, if you witness this type of thing and you know what the deal is in Detroit, take pictures of the crime in action and get as much info as possible on the wherewithal of the renter type. Get together with your neighborhood association and make it grow, ask for more services. Dont settle for less than adequate service from the police or ems. If the city needs to be blanketed by the state or feds in order to provide more cops, so be it until they get the rest of their house in order

**One Shot** · September-21-10, 07:20 PM

WTF?
Only here. And to the people that allowed it and did it-You are the reason this city has turned into what it is.

**Taxpayer7** · September-21-10, 07:30 PM

Let me also add, we copied the name of the home improvement company van information for the police, and gave it to them, still nothing. We were told that for all they know, the house strippers may have been given permission to take the kitchen cabinets, and etc. The renter has been back on at least 3 occassions [[she apparently still has the key and access inside the house), doing who knows what. This is absolutely unbelievable.

**jt1** · September-21-10, 08:07 PM

What's the name of the company?

**softailrider** · September-21-10, 08:15 PM

Originally Posted by Taxpayer7

Hello Detroityes board. If you recall a few months ago, I posted a thread asking for help for someone renting who did not know the home was in foreclosure and later was told she had to move. Given ample time to move, I was very surprised that on her move day, the entire kitchen was being stripped by what appeared to be a friend of the family, who owns a home improvement company [[the van had visited there before and there were signs on the van); she apparently sold the "newly remodeled kitchen" to these guys. They were in and out in about an hour. My neighbor called the DPD; they arrived about 4 hours later. Upon arrival, we were told unless they were able to catch folks in the act of stripping a home, there's nothing they can do [[hardly likely they would have caught these guys arriving 4 hours after the initial call). My neighbors and I are very concerned about the viability of our neighborhood. There doesn't appear to be any recourse to stop the stripping; particularly when someone legitimately has a key to enter the property...even if it's for a short duration while they complete their move. We live in what most perceive as a very nice working class area in Detroit and it's very painful to see people stripping the homes and inherently depreciating the neighborhoods value. My one neighbor, who has invested a lot in her property; as well as I; was so upset, she said for the first time since Detroit's decline, she seriously contemplated moving; not necessarily to the suburbs because they have the same problem; but perhaps to a condo, or maybe even another state. We are desparate for a resolution and would appreciate any guidance or feedback Detroityes may have. This is a problem that is only getting worse with time; and residents are desperate to take action and stop the pillaging of the homes in our great neighborhoods. Again, the emphasis in this thread is related to legitimate renters moving out who still possess a key and can return day after day and sell off the home's assets to any willing buyer; until the bank/owner repossesses the key or pad locks the premises. This is so very, very discouraging.

I would hope the owner of the house has insurance on the dwelling; even if the theft isn't covered the damage that flows from it would be. He / she could possible collect MORE then the value of the house if the claim is handled correctly.

**fanniemae** · September-21-10, 08:19 PM

Whenever I see a Craiglist ad for a garage sale and they are selling the ceiling fixtures, cabinets, appliances, blinds, window treatments, water heater, I know it is a foreclosure .

**Relayer76** · September-21-10, 08:25 PM

Very upsetting indeed. First that there are people who are doing this anned and second that it took 4 hours for the police to respond to daylight robbery. Have you reported this to the bank or whoever owns the property.

But there is a deeper issue here. Why did the bank foreclose? Perhaps there truly was a good reason - like the owners were not making any payments at all but in many cases, the banks/mortgage lender were at fault for making loans to people who could not afford them or with payments that ballooned after the initial 2 or 3 years. These mortgage lenders messed up, yet they received bail-out money from the government. They in turn should have passed on the favour to the home buyers by renegotiating more reasonable mortgage terms allowing people to stay in these homes. Aside from the total deadbeats or people who lost their jobs and were unable to continue even the initial reasonable payments, this would have gone a long way towards keeping people in these homes rather than leaving them open to vandals and the elements.

DetroitPole · September-21-10, 09:24 PM

I know it is risky, but we have had luck in my neighborhood, with one neighbor walking up to the "contractor" informing them they know what they are doing is illegal, and that the police are on their way. In our case, it actually worked! The scrappers put back the radiators they were stealing.

That said, I've seen a house being raided, and I wasn't going to approach the guys. However if you have a neighbor by your side, it seems the best deterrent in this city is going up and SAYING HI! The bastards flip their shit. When the bad guys figure out that everyone in a neighborhood is paying attention, it isn't so fun anymore and they move on.

**n7hn** · September-21-10, 10:28 PM

People do petty things when they feel mistreated. Owners do it when they feel the bank is unfair, sounds like she did if feeling the owners and the bank may have given her the short end of the stick. I mean if she is paying rent, owner isnt paying bank, bank makes HER move....... she sells cabinets since rent that should have secured her shelter did not end up doing that. Just lined someones pockets. Not saying its right, but its really pretty common

**Zacha341** · September-21-10, 11:08 PM

Sickening as it sounds the owner and 'stripping' renter could be working together, splitting the profits of the stripping and a portion of insurance recovery. It's all so ugly. I recall hearing of situations back in the sub-prime 'store front' scam heyday of so-called mortgage writers splitting their commissions with the owner of property who never had any intentions of keeping the house. It is sad to see Detroit literally gutted in regards to its home and retail property. Even some of the better properties and areas are starting to go down........

Originally Posted by softailrider

I would hope the owner of the house has insurance on the dwelling; even if the theft isn't covered the damage that flows from it would be. He / she could possible collect MORE then the value of the house if the claim is handled correctly.

**n7hn** · September-21-10, 11:28 PM

If the house in in foreclosure Id doubt there is any insurance , or conspiracy and profit splitting. Just every person for themselves, real crime is kitchen was gone in an hour. You know those same contractors will take weeks installing it...... poot

**Danny** · September-22-10, 07:32 AM

House rental theft in Detroit is very common these days. People taking any resources for money or scamming insurance companies. It's hard to catch them in the act.

**SWMAP** · September-22-10, 08:53 AM

Think hard about whether you want to save this house. Maybe an empty lot with fresh air blowing through it would be better than another round of renters.

If you do want to save the house, think like a warrier. Jimmy a back or side window and get itn and change the locks. or find the owner [[www.waynecounty.com; pay tax bill will give you the information if the taxes aren't too far out of date) and ask him/her for the key citing danger to the neighborhood. Anyway, try to get in and change the locks. Put up warning signs that house is under neighborhood surveillance. Turn on the water in the bathroom and also the garden hose to the backyard and wait a couple of days. Then call the Water Department and tell them water is running. They will generally come out and, finding the property empty and foreclosed, turn the water off [[this may take some time but they don't want it to run unpaid). Report the property to Wayne County Nuisance Abatement as empty and foreclosed and being stripped. The reporting page is on the Wayne County site. Leave lights on until the DTE bill is run up and DTE turns the power off. Do all this now before freeze so that the house can be shut down properly to save it [[as you want).
Obviously, make sure neighbors are aware and supportive.

I did all this to save the really nice house next door to me and it worked.. After foreclosure and squatters chased out, we have a new owner who really manages his tenants and we can't complain at all.

**Whitehouse** · September-22-10, 09:02 AM

Post a billboard on the entrance road to the neighbourhood.

"No strippers allowed!"

**Taxpayer7** · September-22-10, 09:39 AM

Just as I expected, this morning I awoke to a truck driving out of the driveway with a huge water heater that had just been taken out of the house. Unfortunately I was not able to get the license plate number as it pulled off. Of course the renter was also getting into her car, and the house was not broken into so it is assumed that she let the person in to collect his sale items...unbelieveable!!!
Thanks to all who took the time to post a reply. I do believe this is a revenge stealing aimed towards the previous owner and the bank. I will be following up with my neighbors with some of the suggestions on this board.

**SWMAP** · September-22-10, 09:43 AM

Perhaps the foreclosed owner can tell you who the tenant is - chase her down and say you have photos.

**amika** · September-22-10, 11:11 AM

should have called the news to film it [[or film it yourself) & take it to the city to demand action.

**SWMAP** · September-22-10, 11:15 AM

There would never be any "action." I have seen apartment buildings stripped of bricks over several days and called Buildings & Safety and DPD - no one cares. If the strippers are arrested - who is going to press charges? Does the Prosecutor have time? If there is no owner who cares, believe me, no agency cares.

**Zacha341** · September-22-10, 11:30 AM

Yeah, that's a point. Indeed it's a free-for-all... and these strippers work fast. Like piranhas upon cow that fell into their waters. Nothing left but bone... when they are done.

Originally Posted by n7hn

If the house in in foreclosure Id doubt there is any insurance , or conspiracy and profit splitting. Just every person for themselves, real crime is kitchen was gone in an hour. You know those same contractors will take weeks installing it...... poot

**SWMAP** · September-22-10, 12:34 PM

On second thought, if there's an interested community group around - Blightbusters, for example - they may care a lot and help you secure the house against the thieves with a key!

**softailrider** · September-22-10, 07:56 PM

Originally Posted by SWMAP

Think hard about whether you want to save this house. Maybe an empty lot with fresh air blowing through it would be better than another round of renters.

If you do want to save the house, think like a warrier. Jimmy a back or side window and get itn and change the locks. or find the owner [[www.waynecounty.com; pay tax bill will give you the information if the taxes aren't too far out of date) and ask him/her for the key citing danger to the neighborhood. Anyway, try to get in and change the locks. Put up warning signs that house is under neighborhood surveillance. Turn on the water in the bathroom and also the garden hose to the backyard and wait a couple of days. Then call the Water Department and tell them water is running. They will generally come out and, finding the property empty and foreclosed, turn the water off [[this may take some time but they don't want it to run unpaid). Report the property to Wayne County Nuisance Abatement as empty and foreclosed and being stripped. The reporting page is on the Wayne County site. Leave lights on until the DTE bill is run up and DTE turns the power off. Do all this now before freeze so that the house can be shut down properly to save it [[as you want).
Obviously, make sure neighbors are aware and supportive.

I did all this to save the really nice house next door to me and it worked.. After foreclosure and squatters chased out, we have a new owner who really manages his tenants and we can't complain at all.

All of the above makes complete sense to me except that last sentence - It's pretty hard to manage your tennant. You can screen them, start proceedings to evict when they don't pay, take care of the property as best you can. That's about it actually, you can't manage how people live.

**ragnarok1981** · September-24-10, 08:51 PM

At least you got the police to come. I live in Palmer Woods and there was a vacant home that was broken into. I serve on the security committee here and was called by a concerned neighbor who noticed the broken window. I called the police and they told me to have the home owner to make the call. I went back and forth with them for several minutes explaining that there was no home owner because the home had been apparently been abandoned. So then the cop says well have the block association make the call, and I said I am from the association and I am asking you to come and secure this home and make sure no one is inside looting the place. I was at my wits end and I said so you are not going to do anything are you? The operator said oh well I guess I can send out a car. I stood there waiting for 15 minutes but I had guests coming over for dinner and told the neighbor I could not wait any longer. So apparently 2 hours later the cops show up. An officer takes a look at the broken window and calls in a bunch of other squad cars and they then entered the home with their guns drawn. Honestly did they really expect the burglar to be there after 2 hours? But hey at least they showed, we had another home where an incident occured and the cops never came at all.

I will also share my all time favorite cop story, years ago I was in the kitchen and I heard someone banging on the front door. I went up to the door to see who was there and this man said he was schizophrenic and had run out of his meds and needed someone to take him to the hospital. I was obviously not going to open the door let alone was I going to say sure I am going to let you hop in my car and I will take you to the hospital. So I called 911 and said there is a mentaly ill person at my front door please come and deal with this. 6 hours later the cops came and asked where the guy was. I was dumbfounded and said honestly how should I know, I called 6 hours ago. The most frustrating thing about this is that the 12th district police precinct is about 2 blocks from my house.

**CLAUDE G** · September-24-10, 10:13 PM

Even if the Police came out, they couldn't do anything since the home was still in the possession of the renter.

I have a commercial building that was an auto body repair shop. The tenant moved out and purchased a building down the street, and decided that they where going to take my $10,000 paint booth with them to their new place.

They locked the doors, drove in a moving truck and started taking the paint booth apart. I got the police over there, and the tenant would not give us access to the building. I ended up telling the police I needed access to read the water meter and they let me in, but there was not a dam thing the police could do. It was pretty much a civil matter and if I felt the paint booth was mine then I would have to take the tenant to court.