Okay, it’s Monday August 28th 2023. So many things happened today. A few lessons to be learned in this? I hope so. What a strange day. Kind of bewildering.
For one, I had plans and a plane ticket ready to fly Tampa and meet up with Jose Francisco. But a hurricane interrupted my schedule. My flight to Tampa was cancelled because the approaching category 3 hurricane named Idalia. I can’t win an argument against a scornful ravage like Idalia, so I’ll just have to wait until her fury subsides and she moves on.
It’s also the first day of Sophomore year at school for Ivy, so there’s been lots of hustle and bustle and anticipation with that. After an early-rise and bustling morning, Momma takes her to school and all goes fine. In the meantime, I go to the Feed Store to buy some food for our chickens, and immediately get involved in a minor accident while pulling out of the parking spot. It was no big deal … just a fendy-bendy… my right bumper meeting up with his front right bumper. It didn’t work out very well. They clashed and scratched other and even punched their lights out (one of his lights; the front right housing, his turn-signal assembly). So I exchanged insurance information with the guy, and then we both went our merry way. He wasn’t upset. Neither was I. Insurance did exactly what it was supposed to. So all was good on that.
But when I arrive back at the house about 10 minutes later… that’s when the action started. I pull up to find 2 police cars on my street in front of my house. What’s going on?
Turns out, the homeless guy who had set up camp across the street in an abandoned house is now starting to cause problems. For about 3 months now, a homeless guy has been ‘squatting’ on the front porch. He claims he had permission from the owner (he doesn’t), meaning the guy can stay and the police can do nothing to remove him. If you doubt the squatter and question the police if he is lying… they say only say it is a ‘civil matter’ and you’ll need to pay for an attorney and go to court to evict him. Our neighbors, Teresa, has called the cops and demanded that he leave the porch. He has literally set up a home… a campsite.. on the porch of 1510 Summer Street, complete with a mattress and toiletries and laundry detergent and so much more. This guy is officially a ‘squatter’… that is, he is taking advantage of the fact that the house has been abandoned, so he moves in and ‘squats’… and he begins to enjoy all the legal benefits of ‘squatting’ which is the fact that it is a ‘civil’ matter (meaning you can’t call the police to have him evicted or removed). The police will not do anything because he hasn’t ‘committed a crime’ (other than trespassing), and the owners of the property have to be the ones to report the crime. Even then, most likely, the police will do nothing because it is a ‘civil matter’, and the owner of the house would need to take them to court and prosecute and evict.
‘Squatting’ has become a thing. It is a legal loophole that some vagrants, illegal immigrants, and rip-off artists have learned to exploit. Basically, a person can move into your property and claim residency (like an apartment or condo), and at that point the owner has to spend $1000’s of dollars proving them liars and cheats. Until you prove them frauds, they live rent free. There’s nothing you can do about it. They can live rent free for several years or more. If you try to evict them, you’ll be accused and prosecuted for criminal abuse, and shamed unmercifully as a Republican hater of women and homeless folk. Here are a few links on ‘Squatter’s Rights’: https://www.omnikeytexas.com/blog/what-are-squatters-rights-a-guide-to-squatting-laws-in-texas and here are even some instructions on how to ‘squat’: https://www.wikihow.com/Squat-in-Abandoned-Property
Related Articles
No user responded in this post