Squatters say foreclosed homes beat homeless shelters (New York)

LA Times ^ | 12-21-11 | Tina Susman

[dynachrome]

Reporting from New York— Slips of paper are pasted to the broken door of the corner row house, violations for the garbage piled near the front steps. The stench of trash wafts up the dark interior stairway, where an ashtray filled with cigarette butts sits like an abandoned potted plant on the second-floor landing.

Nobody lives here, at least not officially.

But as you climb the narrow stairs to the top floor, a door opens into an airy apartment that is home to Tasha Glasgow, who is part of a largely invisible population of squatters occupying vacant homes across America. Given their clandestine lives, it's impossible to say how many people are squatting in this country, but with more than 1.3 million homes in foreclosure and hundreds of thousands of people homeless, advocates say it's safe to assume the number is growing.

"You have these abandoned dwellings that are sitting there vacant, sometimes for many months," said Patrick Markee of the Coalition for the Homeless in New York, where shelters are reporting record numbers of residents. "It's not an issue of whether squatting is right or wrong. The fact is that people are desperate for places to live, and they're going to do what they need to do."

[dynachrome]

Socialist America under obozo. Whining for welfare

[Huskrrrr]

Wasting away again in Obamaville...

Looking for my lost 401K.

Some people say there is a Bush to blame..

But I know, it's that Kenyans fault.

[Huskrrrr]

“Whining for welfare”

The next hit game show!

[Eye of Unk]

If left unopposed they will soon be looking at “occupied” homes.

[edpc]

It's not an issue of whether squatting is right or wrong. The fact is that people are desperate for places to live, and they're going to do what they need to do.

It'll be interesting what this clown thinks of his moral relativism when "desperation" leads people to commit illegal acts that directly affect him.

[digger48]

This way, they can save enough money for their $8.00/pack smokes to fill the ashtrays full of cigarette butts that sit like abandoned potted plants on the porch.

[CaptainK]

It’s just a matter of time before the govt. forces the utility companies to supply power to the squatters.

[digger48]

It’s just a matter of time before the govt. forces the utility companies to supply power to the squatters.

Well now, they've got to charge their government provided cellphones, don't they? It's also not right that they have to do without broadband internet access too!

And you surely don't expect them to try to register to vote without a proper street address, do you?

[crazyhorse691]

Squatting in a foreclosed home means you never have to worry about rules...it is somebody elses problem.

[basil]

A lot of these people are 2nd and 3rd generation welfare recipients. It’s all they know............at least that’s what I have been told by someone who should know.

[dynachrome]

"It's not an issue of whether squatting robbing banks is right or wrong. The fact is that people are desperate for places to live money, and they're going to do what they need to do."

[gimme1ibertee]

If the homes are foreclosed on,they belong to the bank,right? So...why doesn’t the bank either charge them rent or force them to leave? They should draw up some kind of contract with them,stating that if they don’t pay,they gotta go.Even if they charge them fifty bucks a month to stay there...that’s something anyhow.If the banks are afraid of looking “inhumane” by forcing therm to leave,they could set up some sort of contract with them.If the squatter chooses not to play fair,then kick them out!

[Krankor]

According to the law, if you live there long enough, you get squatter’s rights and they can never kick you out. In fact, if you can manage to hide in some guy’s basement for three years without getting caught, you can actually claim the house and evict the current owner.

[gimme1ibertee]

A lot of these people are 2nd and 3rd generation welfare recipients.
Give that guy a cigar!!! Bing-o!!!
The endless cycle of welfare will continue to breed this type of entitlement,generation in,generation out..until something is DONE.

Something,perhaps,like this:
(document presented in language of applicant).....Public Assistance Implementation and Usage Contract. This contract, entered into on (date) and expiring on (18 months from implementation date) by the (state agency) and applicant(s) listed herein (must submit names of applicant and children born to her via birth records),allows for the provision of food,housing allowance,child care and education for the purposes of job placement during the contract period,and is understood by all parties concerned that the provision of aforementioned assistance is on a one-time basis,not to be repeated or reinstated at any time for any reason between the applicant(s) and the agency named herein,and is for the aforementioned time period only,and can only be implemented following presentation of documents proving legal citizenship status and a drug screening process,both of which are to be conducted by the agency. Once legal citizenship status and drug screen results are known by the agency and the applicant and found to be favorable,this contract can then be implemented.The following covenants hereby apply and are agreed upon by both the named agency herein and the applicant(s) seeking assistance (failure of any one of these covenants will be considered a contract breach on the part of the applicant,and will result in immediate termination of the contract;assistance will be terminated immediately and can never be reinstated at any time in the future for any reason: Applicant MUST disclose the name(s) of the absent parent of applicant's child/children so that an attempt to obtain monetary support for those children can be made through DNA analysis. Failure to disclose the absent parent's name will result in automatic immediate cessation of benefits. applicant will submit to random home visits which will be unannounced and will occur during the 5-day work week,normally during the early afternoon hours; applicant will submit to random drug testing as directed by the agency; applicant must not conceive,adopt (formally or informally,including family members,immediate or extended) marry or cohabitate during the contract period; applicant must attend a one-year vocational program via a voucher provided by the agency;applicant must attend each class ( two absences will be allowed during the contract period and a doctor's note must be submitted upon returning to class for each absence) and a transportation voucher will be provided by the agency for transportation during class hours;child care will be provided by the agency during class hours only. Once applicant graduates from vocational training, a two-month job-placement period will commence,with child care provided by the agency; Upon applicant's employment,there will be an additional 4 months of ongoing assistance to allow applicant enough time to establish themselves in their occupation and to make child-care arrangements for after the contract period. Once this contract has reached its expiration date,the assistance provided,all provisions and covenants and financial considerations as well,will cease and terminate permanently.The applicant is barred from any and all future assistance. I,________________ hereby agree to adhere to all covenants,rules,etc of this contract. I realize and fully understand that I am bound by this contract in order to receive assistance in any form,and that any violation or breach will result in my not receiving any form of assistance any further. I agree further that this contract was fully explained to me by the agency caseworker and that I will fully comply. (sign & date here)____________________________ Agency hereby agrees to and will implement to the best of its ability and obligations,all covenants of this contract. (agency sign & date)_______________________

[XenaLee]

Unless the homes are “occupied” by Smith & Wesson.

[LostInBayport]

You’re right...this is socialism, pure and simple. Another person/group of persons owns something others want and they rationalize an emotional grounds to move to take it.

The repercussions if the police and courts do nothing about this will hurt the so-called “99%” even more. The banks own these properties (I don’t think there are any squatter’s rights in this country without significant passage of time and court approval). So when a bunch of squatters start a fire and damage a neighborhood, or in a drunken stupor fall down the stairs and rack up medical bills...guess who gets sued? Guess who pays the cost of the settlement in the long run? Who loses when property values decline further because the “new neighbors” have a yard like Sanford & Son’s?

Even worse, if socialists are given permission to do this, the next step is to look at John Jones down the road and say “He’s a single guy...what does he need a big house like that just for himself?”

[Venturer]

These people treat these homes just like they treat their own. They spread trash everywhere they crap where they like they turn the house into a sh*thole, just like they would do their own home if they had one.

You would think since they are living there free they would show some respect for somoen else’s property, but they don’t . They arent “occupy” people they are scum.

Pigs living in a pigsty they made themselves. When it get so filthy it isn’t fit to live in, they will move on to the next one. This is how crack houses come into being.

[tbw2]

What states have a statute of limitations on squatter’s rights of just three years?

[Krankor]

I saw it on an episode of Gunsmoke, so I guess it happened in Kansas.

[FlingWingFlyer]

Barry’s Amerika is starting to make the old Soviet Union look good.