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Squatters Take Over Abandoned Houses

November 30th, 2010

The housing crisis has brought out the best and the worse of American ingenuity and creativity. We have seen thousands of mortgage relief scams where companies promise to save your house from foreclosure. We have seen hundreds of community non-profits like NACA, that are brokering deals between the banks and homeowners. Now, we see squatters trying to claim abandoned houses.

On the surface it seems like a great idea. You need a house for you and your family, including the pets. You find a house. It’s abandoned…windows are broken, doors are smashed, the grass is two feet high, the water is cut off, the electricity is shut off, and the roof needs some work.

You are up for the challenge and you move in. You fix and repair and paint the house. You even pay the property taxes, and have the utilities connected.

The neighbors are happy. They can see some hope of re-vitalization returning to their street. Where half the houses were once vacant, now there are squatters working on three or four houses.

The city is happy because there is revenue from property taxes. Furthermore, crime is down in this area, resulting is less work for the EMS, the police and the fire department.

For many people and government agencies a squatter is a savior. However, many opponents still see squatters as leeches who want something for nothing. These opponents of squatters would prefer to have the squatters charged with trespassing and evicted. If we go this route it allows the houses to be vandalized and deteriorate. Houses on the same street and in the nearby vicinities will see their values plummet.

In Florida, squatters are utilizing an 1869 statute that says if a person takes a property and the owner does not claim the property in seven years, the squatter gets to keep the property.

It seems that real estate wheeling and dealing flourishes in Florida. Mark Guerette, the owner of Save Florida Homes Inc., has taken the squatting game to a new level. He has taken possession of 20 houses using the adverse possession argument. These houses he has rented at around $289 a month each. In return the sub-squatters (tenants) fix and maintain the properties. At peak, he had 17 houses rented.

I would like to mention that squatting is illegal. Mr. Guerette has been charged with fraud and if convicted can spend about 15 years in prison. Mr. Guerette, in his defense, has pointed out that the houses he selected had the large orange sticker plastered across the door. These stickers are generally placed there by the city and they indicated that the property was a "public nuisance".

It should also be noted that Mr. Guerrette notified the owners of the properties of his intentions. Nineteen of the owners and their banks did not respond.

Opponents of squatters feel that taking the squatters to court is very expensive. They also feel that the activity of renting houses that are not yours could open the floodgates to shady real estate scams. Furthermore, additional damage will be done to an already fragile housing market.

As an outside observer, with no axe to grind, I feel that the bigger issue is how to get rid of the tenants. The easy answer is, you keep them. The house is fixed. Give them a proper lease and let them redirect the rent to you. If they were paying $289 a month, be thankful, that’s more than you were getting before.

Related articles by House Refinance Center

Foreclosures: Squatters Rejoice In New Found Homes

Squatter Next Door: A Leach Or A Savior

Recasting Is A Great Option

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