Posted on 07/24/2014 8:33:44 AM PDT by Red Badger
MIAMI (CBSMiami) — A South Florida renter came home to find people living inside his house but the family illegally squatting inside said they are not leaving.
The owner of the property on SW 5th street and 49th Avenue said his friend William Ruiz has been renting the house for the past two years and recently started to move out while the house was listed for short sale.
Ruiz went on vacation for two days and said when he came back, he found the locks on the house changed and strangers living inside using his belongings.
“They’re using his bed, his dining room table…all his ornaments,” said homeowner Luis Camayd over the phone.
The man who moved in with his pregnant wife and toddler didn’t want to be identified but said he was scammed by a phony realtor.
He said a lease agreement proves he paid $3,600 to live at the home.
The man, he said, he gave the cash to is no longer returning phone calls.
“I’m really stunned because the house was set to be sold already. I can’t sell the house until we get them out of there,” said Camayd.
Au contraire, mon ami. Fleischman in Miami could be anything, really, and Spanish speaking as well. Sort of like the media coming up with Zimmerman as a white hispanic.. lol.
A white hispanic jew from Spain would be unusual, and “caucasian” or “white” in skin color if they were from say “old Spain” descendancy, etc. Cubans of upper class background (emigres 4th generation from Castro et al) run into this all the time. They are not brown skinned, indios or what have you.
Which give the triple lie to the “La Raza” BS marxists of opportunity. Dear La Raza—Language is not race La racists. And they indeed are racists, not simply bigots.
“You’d be surprised. We live part-time in a small condo off of N Miami Beach. It’s a lot whiter than you think.”
I know. I forgot the humor tag. ;-)
Maybe, but unlikely after only two days. Also, he can repor the issue to the utility that he's no longer the customer at that address, and the current occupants are squaters with no valid rights to the property.
My guess is it’s just a scammer who did the ‘renting’. One exactly like this happened here in Destin last year.
A guy would look for foreclosed properties, break in and change the locks, then ‘list’ the properties for rent on Craigslist and local papers. He’d collect the First/Last/Damage Deposits and had the renters mail their monthly checks to some PO box. He took advantage of people who were new to the area and had all the legal type papers and everything for them to sign just like a realtor would.
These were really upscale homes, not run down neighborhoods, so the $$ involved was quite substantial..................
Yep, and my thought on this is that the “realtor” is a fake working for the bank. Just a thought. Because the only people that could legally change the locks are the owners in the first part, since the property was in short sale.
Many horror stories. Have a bud in FL trying to sell his home, one he owns outright, and the idiots from Chase made a keystroke error in a foreclosure address on the same street— putting HIS place in “limbo”. Could not sell it until the county acknowledged and cleared it up which took forever and for which the moron bank (who could have been pursued, should have in my view) would not take responsibility. Idiots.
Yes, but that puts the utility company into a position of trying to decide if he’s telling the truth or are they? This could lead to some legal problems for them....................
How did they catch him? This is big bucks criminality you describe. Lord, do I hate the RE business because of what people are allowed to do with disinterested law enforcement.
“Au contraire, mon ami. Fleischman in Miami could be anything, really, and Spanish speaking as well.”
Ah, but she spoke English with no discernible foreign accent! In addition she is whiter than white! ;-)
( My wife came here from Cuba in 1959. Her Spanish accent is still in place. Ms. Fleischman is speaking native, born-American English. ) ;-)
No, they don't. That word is a mispronunciation of "negro" which literally means black. Any way you try to spin it, the "n-word" is still derogatory.
Negro means the color black.
I believe it IS some sort of private person with a realty license who has access to the MLS.
Not necessarily connected to a bank but I believe they could get pertinent info from the MLS (under foreclosures, pending sales, listed for this and that, etc.)
You have to understand these people who ‘rent’ out these places are criminals in it for the quick cash. They only get caught when they try to make it a long-term thing.
I’m not sure exactly how, but they did catch him. Probably when he went to collect the checks at the PO Box or cash them at the bank, just a guess..................
In fact, negro is the Spanish word for black..............
Yeah, I did some research and found out it was a common CL scam. The protection, however, is in why I used CL in the first place: Only face to face transactions.
But even then, it is important to make sure the house is not actually for sale when you do the deal. If it is, “renter beware”.
If I were still in such a situation (for us it was a temporary place until we moved to our home in KY), I’d get ID at the very least, not to mention notary.
Blessings. From one who has “Peter Pan” flight friends and their descendents. Most of the US reacts to “hispanic” like
all are the “same” (whatever that may mean to them). My travel and work took me all over, and necessitating many languages for the sake of courtesy if nothing else.
And, as for the Castros— “Basta Ya!”
Thanks— MLS, did not think of that. So it is policing by the
Realtor (TM) brand that is in need. They have their hands full.
Owning property takes vigilance, even for the “rights” that one is supposed to be protected by law. Very cynical on that one with all these “right by taking”. Or the ever popular euphemism “condemnation by self-decree” activity of squatters.
The experience in UK is not to be believed— junkies living in massive “vacant” but owned estates and unremovable.
The squatter guy changed the locks on the door BEFORE the owner came back. I don’t think “renters” typically change all the door locks on a house or apartment that they rent. His story is fishy.
This guy is breaking the law and possibly a liar to boot.
The owner can show HE owns the property, he never received any money from the squatters - the squatter’s paid money to someone who had no right to rent him the property. This is a no-brainer.
Yes, if what the squatter is saying is true, that was a terrible injustice done to him, but that does not give him property rights over the property rights of the owner (who had nothing to do with the injustice that occurred).
Just saw the article doesn’t say “who” changed the locks.
Think of how easy it would be for the perps of this scam to end up dead.
Maybe where you grew up but not where I grew up.
The tenant was Hispanic, too. It is Florida.
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