.... just wondering out loud... is stuff like ^^ a reasonably predictable feature (?) of "have/have not"?

[Standard disclaimer: I'm no economist, sociologist, psychologist, historian, etc., etc.]

P.S. Tongue-in-cheek,  I dunno what to make of the article in that I see "Fox News." Surely it can be dismissed as typical b.s. or part of a conspiracy theory.... or is there even a difference?  

Fox News or not, the problem of squatters is real in some parts of the U.S. In those locations, any home that is unoccupied for a short time seems to be fair game. To avoid a political discussion, I won't name cities or states, but some of those places have tenancy rules that can make it difficult to get squatters evicted in a timely manner.

Yahoo publish the report so apparently it passed the sniff test.

In NJ it’s pretty hard to get someone out of a property. Of course, I’m not particularly upset by it as it’s a pendulum correction for landlords being horrific human beings over the past century.

Any sympathy for    Jinyu Wu  and his hunger strike because his property has been taken from him?  This should be legally considered an unconstitutional "taking", as the govt. has imposed this upon him, effectively stealing his property.    

Not a problem where I live, at least I don't think so.

There have been 2 houses down the street from me that were vacant for years and no squatters came in to claim it. One house was finally sold/rented/leased? to a very nice couple who are making it look livable again. Cleaned up the front and back yards, are doing work inside because I notice different items being set out in the yard and hauled away.

The second house was finally sold/leased/rented to some guys who work the oilfield. They spend almost 2 weeks just removing all the junk and trash from the back yard and the house. Have re-roofed the house, replaced the carpet, replaced some of the bathroom fixtures and kitchen fixtures. They don't take good care of the yard, but do occasionally mow down the weeds.

I don't think squatters would put that much money into improving an old house, but I could be wrong.

quote:

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Originally posted by South Jersey Mike

In NJ it’s pretty hard to get someone out of a property. Of course, I’m not particularly upset by it as it’s a pendulum correction for landlords being horrific human beings over the past century.

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Two wrongs do not make it right...

The problem of squatting is all over North America. There is no rush to go camping in Newfoundland or Manitoba during the winter but in the milder climates like around here every sidewalk is fare game. In this municipality we don't have a big tenting problem but we have a few bocks in the industrial areas where several tired looking camper vans are parked year round. At this point the police still seem to enforce the illegal entry or trespassing laws.

I can count 13 rentals, and only two had bad landlords, "bad" meaning rude and unconcerned about needed repairs (such as my glass patio door shattering leaving me open to the world for the two weeks it took to replace it). Of the remaining 11, eight leave no impression whatsoever and 3 were genuinely nice and helpful people. All returned my deposit. Overall, I can't complain. The best 3 were all individuals who owned one rental property to supplement their retirement, and this was generally their former residence which they kept as a rental when they moved on to whatever, or it was an addition to their residence constructed to proved rental income. And it is people like them, not giants like Blackrock, who are being hurt the most by these policies of "can't evict no matter what."

Squatting is getting something for not working for it. Maybe if the problem is bad enough in the states that are proposing reparations this squatting could be applied to the squatters account.

Don: "...no rush to go camping in Newfoundland or Manitoba during the winter ... ."

True enuff, but mid-May [i.e. warm enuff to go camping in Man-ee-toe-bah] is, to coin a phrase, just around the corner. The frame is in the shop all cleaned/repainted  ready to re-install once the white stuff goes away. 

I guess the Newfies have a bit more lead-in time ... several years ago we were making plans to visit a former colleague in St. John's.... he told us to not get too excited, too soon, as "summer" didn't really start 'til July 1st. 

quote:

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Originally posted by 5B-Ranch

Squatting is getting something for not working for it. Maybe if the problem is bad enough in the states that are proposing reparations this squatting could be applied to the squatters account.

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By your definition, landlords could be considered squatters. 

I've got no sympathy for someone that turns a residential home into a commercial profit center. That's part of the risk you take as an entrepreneur, is it not? 

quote:

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Originally posted by donc

The problem of squatting is all over North America. There is no rush to go camping in Newfoundland or Manitoba during the winter but in the milder climates like around here every sidewalk is fare game. In this municipality we don't have a big tenting problem but we have a few bocks in the industrial areas where several tired looking camper vans are parked year round. At this point the police still seem to enforce the illegal entry or trespassing laws.

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I too live in an unwealthy area and I hate the late spring cause all the bozos come out of the woodwork to build their gypsy tent villages on public land where they harass people and litter until (thank god) the winter cold drives them back to their mothers basements or under bridges. 

They don't even attempt to gtfo of people's way and not impose themselves. 

That said, I've gotten friendly with some of them with dogs and in chatting with some of them I've learned that many of them have jobs and make 25-35k (cad) a year and just cant afford a roof, food, clothing, electricity, etc.

This is Canada today, a 3rd world country masquerading as a developed nation to justify gross and abusive levels of taxation on hard working people.

----"I've got no sympathy for someone that turns a residential home into a commercial profit center. That's part of the risk you take as an entrepreneur, is it not? --"

I do not understand this thinking. A person pays off their home over a lifetime and when they move to their retirement home instead of selling it decides to rent it out to help fund their retirement. This is somehow wrong? They could have sold the property and pocketed the cash, or is that somehow immoral also?
Among the many risks one takes as an entrepreneur, having your investment stolen by your govt. should not be among them. I mean, really, you will defend this? What if they stole your pension? Your savings? This is monstrous behavior.

Bill-e, I totally agree with you.

In a free and just society, private property can be done with as the owners chooses.
Why should someone who slaved their whole life and paid off their home, should they chose to, not be able to rent it out?
Doesn't make sense.

I'll try my best to not get political. But a couple things...

I don't see where the government is stealing anything here. The squatters are private citizens, the landlords are private citizens. Seems like a private matter to me, not sure where the government comes into play.

My retirement has already been 'stolen' from me. And basically anyone else. Not to thread drift, but the devaluation of the dollar through constant printing of debt-based fiat currency has resulted in a situation where "retirement" is simply not an option for the vast majority of people under 40. I know we're not all US-based, so it might not apply in your country.

Home ownership is all but a fantasy for most people under 40, for many factors. Using residential homes as investment vehicles is one of those reasons. Like I said, I have no sympathy.

Also, I manage a property. It's a rental for college students, and is legally structured as a non-profit. Good landlords don't have to deal with squatters because they actually know how to run a business, and good citizens don't go crying to the government to solve all their problems. It's a private issue between private individuals. Like I said, entrepreneurship carries risk. If the investment doesn't pay off, don't run to the government to save you. Quit crying and pull yourself up by your bootstraps.

quote:

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Originally posted by South Jersey Mike

In NJ it’s pretty hard to get someone out of a property. Of course, I’m not particularly upset by it as it’s a pendulum correction for landlords being horrific human beings over the past century.

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The law protects tenants more than landlords pretty much everywhere in the western world. It's not a NJ thing. This is so because it makes the most sense, if you think about it. 

It's definitely not some sort of backwards conspiracy against landlords in retribution for some sort of perceived subjective past injustices.

This is why we have labor laws, also. 

It is not a private issue when you are legally prevented from evicting a deadbeat tenant who is then allowed to live in your property for free. This only exists due to laws. It is not a private matter because the govt. has interjected themselves into the situation. The agreement (the lease) allowed for eviction after a period of non-payment. The govt. came along and said regardless of your agreement, this is now how it is going to be. Nothing private between citizens here, at all.

AND, the landlord is still legally required to keep up the property, even if they do not have the funds to do so (because the tenant is not paying rent!) If the furnace breaks, you have to fix it at your cost and to hell with your financial state. Roof leaks? Same thing. Your deadbeat tenant has the legal right to sue you for damages for not maintaining a livable space. They have rights, the landlord has none. The landlord has been enslaved by their own govt. to provide housing at their own expense to someone else.
And you seem quite confused as to who has been crying and running to the govt. to save them. That was certainly not the landlords.

banjo bill-e I guess I'm just not understanding the issue here. Go into the house, physically remove the squatter. Remove all their possessions too.

If your first when encountering a problem is to call the government for help, you get what you deserve.

Steven, do you have any sympathy for a person that turns a residential home into a commercial loss center? .... and if it's due to government policy?   

Do you actually know any citizen, good or bad, that has gone crying to a government to solve any, let alone all, of their problems?  IF a government institutes a regulation, or changes a regulation. so as to inherently put someone in an advantageous or disadvantageous position, who else but the government can right/correct the regulation that's at the root of the problem?

Steven, what you can't seem to grasp is that physically removing that squatter will---now--- get you thrown in jail and then sued! Things have changed. The govt. has interceded on the behalf of the deadbeat and the landlord now has no rights at all. Can you comprehend that? That is as clear as I can make it.

People accessing and utilising empty and unused space sounds like a fairly predictable consequence of a crisis of an increasing number of younger people (and vulnerable people of any age) being priced out of buying or affording skyrocketing private rental on a home. Add to that the scarcity of social housing and most people acknowledge we have a serious housing problem

Given that untenable situation quite honestly I'm more concerned by the trauma and danger of economic homelessness than I am by the inconvenience and annoyance caused to owners of multiple and empty properties. 

Squatting in private property is a criminal offence in the uk. If you don't leave when requested you would arrested and the penalty is a fine or prison. This pretty much solved the squatting problem in residential properties.

Explain to me exactly how it happens. I go to a property I own, I physically remove a squatter. The squatter calls the cops, then what happens? Walk me through the steps. Be specific. It's he said she said at that point. I don't know who those people are, officer.

A differentiation needs to be made here. There is a big difference between a contractual tenant not paying rent and a random person entering a vacant home. The solution to the random person is simple, physical removal by force. The solution to the tenant is simple as well, follow the legal process.

Again, I manage a rental property. All the people complaining about how "you can't evict anyone" are just being ignorant. I know, for a fact, that you absolutely can evict people. I've done it before, and I'll do it again. It just takes some paperwork. Just follow the proper process and it's done in about 30 days. If you're too lazy to file the paperwork, that's your own fault is it not? Again, I have no sympathy for a business owner that doesn't know how to run their own business. To be very clear: Anyone that tells you "you can't evict anyone nowadays" is trying to sell you a false narrative, and you should seriously question their motives. Anyone that tells you that tenants have more power than landlords is simply lying to you, that's just an absolutely absurd concept. It is simply not true, at all.

And adstrom has a fair point that people are missing. I don't really buy the "I worked hard for this and now I get to leech for the rest of my life" paradigm. The fact is, that being born at a time where you got lucky enough to be able to buy a house for $3,000 and now it's worth $500,000 isn't an indication of hard work, it's an indication of lucky timing. There's a reason most of this demographic was referred to as the "I, Me, Mine" generation by their parents (who we call 'the greatest generation'). The leadup to this situation, the late 60s 70s and 80s, was defined by self-serving hedonistic degeneracy and narcissism. You can't spend 30 years tearing down societal norms and then complain when things start to go sideways. We're in the "Find Out" part of F.I.F.O.; You reap what you sow. The children are getting hungry and they're growing impatient. The future is now old man. Just kidding :-P

Over 40 years of renting apartments you learn the tricks of the trade. I can have someone gone in one week without breaking the law too much. Most of the time, things run smooth. I enjoy keeping my properties up.