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By Shannon Petrie, FrontDoor.com | Published: 9/24/2009
That abandoned home down the street may not be as empty as you think.
The foreclosure crisis has left thousands of homes vacant, yet some of these homes are not quite as vacant as they seem. Squatting is on the rise across the country, and the issue is being met with mixed reactions. Some think squatters are lowering property values and inviting crime into neighborhoods, while others think that someone ought to be making use of all those unoccupied homes. In fact, according to Michael Stoops, executive director of the National Coalition for the Homeless, about a dozen advocacy groups around the country are moving homeless people into vacant homes.
But while some squatters manage to live in unoccupied homes for several months without hurting anyone, others cost homeowners a lot of money and stress. When Jay Hung's tenant moved out of his investment property in Victorville, California, his property manager began making repairs to prepare the place for a new tenant. One day, the property manager was surprised to find that a family of seven had moved into the single family house. He called the police to report a "break-in," but authorities didn't see it that way, since the "squatters" said they had paid rent to a person who claimed to be the homeowner and thus they were victims of a scam.
Hung, who lives in New York City, had to hire an eviction company to evict the squatters and repair the home after they left. After all was said and done, it took more than four months and cost about $7,900 before Hung could rent out his property. "The entire thing was such an ordeal," he said. "The city of Victorville also would not let me disconnect any utility service if a 'tenant' lived there, as they assume it was originally a legitimate tenant. When the problem was explained to them that these people broke in, they didn't care."
TIP: If you own an investment property or vacation home that you cannot check on frequently, hire an established property management company to rent it out regularly and take care of the day-to-day maintenance.
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