Mansion squatters return in a big way

The Seattle Times ^ | August 21, 2010 | Danny Westneat

[businessprofessor]

By this chapter of this curious tale, Mark von der Burg surely is wondering: Why me? What did I do to deserve this?

He's the Eastside real-estate agent who, two months ago while prepping for an open house to sell a $3.3 million mansion in Kirkland, was stunned to find that complete strangers had moved in and were staking a tortured legal claim to the foreclosed property. ...

[businessprofessor]

Here are some alternative titles for this article: "Obasma Voter Alert". "Squatting for profit", "New Rat Growth Industry", and "The New Rat Morality".

[datura]

How about “Rats Feeding On Each Other”? Kirkland makes Seattle look conservative.

It’s too bad we can’t just make King/Pierce/Snohomish Counties form a new state.

[Brilliant]

Is it possible these squatters are some sort of “honest thieves?” I asked Capt. Ursino. “I don’t know about that,” he said. “But the whole thing is about the darndest thing I’ve ever heard.”

Not so difficult to understand. This is the law in Costa Rica. If you squat (I want to say for 90 days), then you can’t be removed because they have a very short statute of limitations. Of course, they don’t have such a short statute of limitations in Seattle, but it makes perfect sense that if you cater to illegal aliens, you’re going to get a bunch of visitors from Costa Rica who don’t give a damn what the law is in Seattle.

[Psycho_Bunny]

It’s not squatting, it’s theft.

[Farmer Dean]

35,000 to move these fools out?I’ll do it for 10k and nobody question my methods.

[Cheetahcat]

I would not call the cops just yet, for a couple grand some not very nice things can happen to the squatters.

[muawiyah]

At one time we had several homes in the neighborhood where the owners had absconded to parts unknown.

If you have too many vacant homes around you get problems you don't want. Enterprising people cut off the locks, put in their own, called the utilities folks for a restart, and rented them out until the banks finally figured they owned something somewhere.

That took more than a year. In the meantime we had people in the homes ~ and the power and water were on.

Finally the banks took possession, sold off the properties, and speculators rehabed them and turned them around for sale to new owners.

Since the crash this area has seen a 30% renter occupancy rate crash to maybe 5%.

[Truth29]

"I would not call the cops just yet, for a couple grand some not very nice things can happen to the squatters."

Hey, an anonymous report to the police that they are making meth/selling drugs in the house should get a visit from the local no knock SWAT team.

[ImaGraftedBranch]

Let’s see. If someone breaks into my home, they are going to be met with shotgun. Why should this be different?

[pabianice]

Seattle deserves this. I hope there are many more such cases. Liberals change their tune only when they themselves fall victim to Liberalism. LOL!

[Oldexpat]

In most third world banana republics you just don’t leave houses unattended. You hire somebody to stay in them or you will have squatters and then have to bribe the police and courts to get them out. Our progress toward third world status continues.

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

****Hey, an anonymous report to the police that they are making meth/selling drugs in the house should get a visit from the local no knock SWAT team.***

Unless the local team is on the take.

[Stosh]

Read a newspaper article a while back about something similar in the US.

I don’t remember the exact details, but it was something like this: somebody used an empty lot as a short-cut or something, eventually wearing a path through it, and after continuous use for some period of time (maybe years?), claimed it as his own. And the claim, as I recall, was upheld in the courts.

Maybe somebody with a law background can explain the legal principle involved (or let me know I’m completely off-base in my recollection).

[VOA]

“
Mansion squatters return in a big way
“

Welcome to “Obamaville”s.
Don’t expect the MSM to be honest and term it thusly.

[Snickersnee]

Google “adverse possession”`

[Truth29]

You are not wrong. It is a concept called “adverse possession” whereby if someone holds use of a property for a specified period, often with the knowledge of the owner, the squatter can claim legal ownership.

[bert]

Call tony Soprano. He will know what to do.

I think that if the squatters are loaded into a van and hauled to a remote southern California desert location and released the problem will be solved.

[Stosh]

Thank you (ditto Snickersnee)

[NorCoGOP]

It's Adverse Possession, but the law differs from state to state - most states have a statute of 15 to 18 years of unimpeded access grants the "user" of the land the right to claim ownership.

It's pretty easy to get around if you file a claim every three years or so with the county clerk that at no time have you allowed anyone use of the land - it restarts that clock.

But it's also complicated. AND expensive.

[Repeal The 17th]

“...It is a concept called “adverse possession”
whereby if someone holds use of a property for
a specified period, often with the knowledge of
the owner, the squatter can claim legal ownership...”
-
Do you think I can get away from this
if I go build me a campsite deep inside a national forest?
How long do I have to be there?