Blight moves in after foreclosures (and squatters!)

LA Times ^ | August 28, 2007 | David Streitfeld

[2banana]

Houses abandoned to foreclosure are beginning to breed trouble, adding neighbors to the growing ranks of victims.

...

Chris Ragsdale, the Los Angeles Police Department's senior lead officer for Westwood and Bel-Air, recalled one case from the end of that era, when a group of men moved into a foreclosed house in Pacific Palisades. The squatters changed the locks, turned on the electricity and brought in furniture. When the agent trying to sell the place showed up, they maintained that they had a lease.

"If you know what you're doing, you can get six months in a place with a kick-ass view," Ragsdale said.

...

Paul Cargile, a Westchester foreclosure specialist, took over a South L.A. house a few months ago. When he sent his cleaning crew in to prepare it for sale, they found a woman living there. She produced a lease showing she had paid a man claiming to be the owner $1,600 in first month's rent and deposit.

Cargile gave her $2,000 to leave.

"It's easier than going to court," he said.

[2banana]

America - what a great country.

And this mess is not over by a long shot - not matter if the dow goes way up on some days.

[PeterPrinciple]

“It’s easier than going to court,” he said.

---

And that is the problem. We have gotten away from local justice.

[Philistone]

This is why I think that the foreclosure problem won’t be as bad as everyone thinks. The LAST thing banks want is a bunch of empty real-estate.

You’ll see them start renegotiating loans when their inventory of broken-down squats starts to rise.

[Red Badger]

A baseball bat is cheaper than $2000..............

[pnh102]

We have gotten away from local justice.

Wha else could the guy do? Squatters cannot be evicted without a court order. Going to court probably would have cost far more than the $2000 he paid. Aside from shooting the squatters, what other solution would have worked?

[AD from SpringBay]

Houses abandoned to foreclosure are beginning to breed trouble, adding neighbors to the growing ranks of victims.

Ahhh, victimhood. Thy name be pure. Why is it so difficult to arrest someone living in a house illegally? Or, at the least, why can't they be set to the curb? Ahhh, victimhood.

[NonValueAdded]

Well, I’ve rented many an apartment or house in my day and not once did I do a title search to see if the lessor actually owned the property.

[PeterPrinciple]

Wha else could the guy do? Squatters cannot be evicted without a court order. Going to court probably would have cost far more than the $2000 he paid. Aside from shooting the squatters, what other solution would have worked?

---

By local justice I am hearkening back to the days of the local Justice of the Peace. It was local and fast. Not always perfect but it worked.

[GeorgefromGeorgia]

In Georgia it is relatively easy for a landlord to dispossess a tenant not paying rent. It takes a little over two months to evict someone.
I have heard that the process takes six months in California and that some people just move every six months never paying rent.

[Lurker]

“It’s easier than going to court,” he said.

How hard is it to rack the slide on a 12 gauge?

L

[MizSterious]

There was a time when shooting trespassers was not only allowed, but condoned. If the squatters knew there would be CONSEQUENCES, they wouldn’t be squatting. Not saying it should be shooting necessarily, but a property owner should have the right to evict them, without waiting 6 months for the court system.

[from occupied ga]

How hard is it to rack the slide on a 12 gauge?

In la la land that makes YOU the criminal.

[rahbert]

You have to use the legal procedure, otherwize you risk sharing a cell with a tatooed cholo.

[Lurker]

In la la land that makes YOU the criminal.

"Officer officer! There's a burglar in my home! I was in fear for my life!"

L

[7thOF7th]

A friend of mine was telling me about a new scheme in California called “selling short”. This is where homeowners pull a large amount of equity out of their residences through a second mortgage and use that money to purchase a new home worth much more. Then they simply walk away from the older home and give it up to foreclosure. This is criminal and California needs to stop it now.

[Red Badger]

A friend of mine had a rental property. The renters stopped paying the rent. It took him six months to get them out of the house, legally. When they were finally gone, the house was trashed to the max, I mean really trashed. Holes in the walls, plumbing ripped out, Water heater gone (chopped out with an ax!), toilets busted, drawers and cabinets gone or destroyed.......

[from occupied ga]

You have to use the legal procedure, otherwize you risk sharing a cell with a tatooed cholo.

Unfortunately true. The deck is stacked against the property owner. The government screwing them with zoning and taxes on one side and the criminal element screwing them on the other. My late mother had some property that people dumped trash (old cars etc) on. She got fined and had to pay for the cleanup.

[Red Badger]

Well, I’ve rented many an apartment or house in my day and not once did I do a title search to see if the lessor actually owned the property.

That was fine in the old days. But in today's world, it might just be a good idea........

[from occupied ga]

"Officer officer! There's a burglar in my home! I was in fear for my life!"

Unlikely to work on a property that you're not actually living in. The police aren't all that good at finding criminals who drift around, but they can zero in on a property owner in a hearbeat.

[pnh102]

Then they simply walk away from the older home and give it up to foreclosure. This is criminal and California needs to stop it now.

There's already a substantial penalty for such a move though. The black marks that result on one's credit report for doing such a thing will bite back such a person for many years to come.