Squatters

[ultrarunner]

Got a text from a neighbor I only met once or twice that lives near my rural property.

Neighbor said not to pry but asked if I was on property or had people there working and I said no.

Got in the car and drove 15 hours through the night and arrived to find 2 people at the place… not knowing if they were alone and knowing no cell service and sheriff 90 minutes away best case gave me pause for a moment.

I got out and said sorry I’m late… which got me a dumbfounded look from one guy.

I followed saying are you the contractor or the realtor I’m supposed to meet with while looking at my watch.

The guy said he was sent by the property manager to look after the place because the owner is out of state…

I responded I’m the owner and didn’t know the “Property Manager”sent anyone out… (there is no property manager)

The two apologized for the mixup, quickly gathered their things and got in their SUV and made a Beeline getaway… the padlock for my gate is missing and the shop lock and door frame all bent to hell… but still holding.

All in all I think the situation turned out the best under the circumstances and maybe saying I’m expecting more people to show up helped?

The neighbor now has a key to the place and thanked me for coming up because they don’t want a squatters camp next to them… I thanked them profusely…

Probably not related but someone went onsite and harvested a massive old growth cedar leaving just the stump…neighbor said they heard chainsaws a few months back but said there was also logging going on in the area for a new home build… and didn’t think anymore about it… the cedar would have been floated out… so no logging truck… I miss that tree!

Just one more thing to be on top of… my great old time neighbors have all passed and it was just by chance I exchanged numbers with the family that shares my back property line.

Can’t be too careful these days…

 

[mrmikey]

To me, squatters are the lowest of low. Those sound like great neighbours to have and be friends with.

 

[lman]

We thought about buying a second home out of state but didn't want the headache of trying to keep it secure. We're happy with our little farm and don't need another place to worry about whether it has been burglarized or vandalized.

 

[HawkinsHollow]

Well played sir, well played! That sucks you had to drive all that way, I hope you at least made a weekend out of it. Did they gain access to the main living structure? How long do you think they had been there?

 

[Torvy]

Do you have any cameras on the property?

It might be worth the small investment.

 

[Bill Guenthner]

We thought about buying a second home out of state but didn't want the headache of trying to keep it secure. We're happy with our little farm and don't need another place to worry about whether it has been burglarized or vandalized.

That's us. I had planned to have a second home in retirement, but in today's America if you show up at your second home and someone has moved into it, they will have more rights than you will.

 

[Torvy]

That's us. I had planned to have a second home in retirement, but in today's America if you show up at your second home and someone has moved into it, they will have more rights than you will.

It varies by state quite a bit.

The sad, but unsurprising, wording in many of these state laws in that the squatters have to pay taxes to gain lawful ownership, but they don't have to pay the actual property owners anything.

Some states have tightened up their laws making it a bit easier to evict.

 

[ultrarunner]

Well played sir, well played! That sucks you had to drive all that way, I hope you at least made a weekend out of it. Did they gain access to the main living structure? How long do you think they had been there?

Easy to access windows all had screens out but no evidence of home entry.

The detached garage man door was open but no sign forced and the only thing inside an otherwise totally empty garage is broom and dustpan.

Only the shop man door has signs of attempted entry…

I think I dodged a bullet on this with no shortage of stories of home/property squatting.

Kind of at a crossroads on the place… owned 20 years with retirement being the plan but with property taxes having tripled with no end in sight it’s looking to be less of a reality.

 

[ultrarunner]

Do you have any cameras on the property?

It might be worth the small investment.

No, mostly because no wifi or cell service… thought about a dummy cam mounted high and obvious.

 

[drizler]

Does your garage door have the little plastic T handle for the emergency release attached? If so, untie it and throw it away. That’s an easy way to break into a garage. They just take a slim gym sneak it in over the top seal and hook that emergency release to open the door. There’s no use making it easy for them. If they gotta work for it, they’ll usually go find somebody else who’s less security minded to break into.