# Dang Home Squatters..trying to get rid of the ones that just moved 4 houses down **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 14, 2014, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dang-home-squatters-trying-to-get-rid-of-the-ones-that-just-moved-4-houses-down/686066 "2014-04-14T03:28:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2014, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dang-home-squatters-trying-to-get-rid-of-the-ones-that-just-moved-4-houses-down/686066/41 "2014-04-18T18:32:17Z")
> [@Esox\_Lucius](#): > > Never underestimate the power of charm, wit, and lots of cold hard cash. > > Seriously, maybe it was because I saw that the misunderstanding was really my fault instead of getting bent out of shape about it, so we worked out a reasonable and fair compromise: we agreed it was a misunderstanding and he let the warning stand. > > Umm, wait a minute… Who are you, and what are you doing here? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Esox\_Lucius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/848f3c/32.png) [@Esox\_Lucius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esox_Lucius)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2014, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dang-home-squatters-trying-to-get-rid-of-the-ones-that-just-moved-4-houses-down/686066/42 "2014-04-18T21:25:46Z")
Don’t let this cone-shaped head fool you. I am one of you, no question about that, no sirree. Why do you ask, Earthling? ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2014, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dang-home-squatters-trying-to-get-rid-of-the-ones-that-just-moved-4-houses-down/686066/43 "2014-04-18T21:35:24Z")
> [@Claverhouse](#): > > Hmm… Oh dear… Well, better that a big “T” on the lawn for _“Trespasser”._ ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2014, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dang-home-squatters-trying-to-get-rid-of-the-ones-that-just-moved-4-houses-down/686066/44 "2014-04-19T05:19:40Z")
Let me guess, the alleged squatters are black, right (or just maybe hispanic, with strong accents), and your friend is white. > [@Gatopescado](#): > > Well, better that a big “T” on the lawn for _“Trespasser”._ Only if you set fire to it. ---
**Author:** ![Learjeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/94ad74/32.png) [@Learjeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Learjeff)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2014, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dang-home-squatters-trying-to-get-rid-of-the-ones-that-just-moved-4-houses-down/686066/45 "2014-04-19T20:40:13Z")
Your friend is very unwise, to make enemies of neighbors he thinks are scofflaws. He has everything to lose; they might have very little. ---
**Author:** ![Celyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@Celyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celyn)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2014, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dang-home-squatters-trying-to-get-rid-of-the-ones-that-just-moved-4-houses-down/686066/46 "2014-04-21T03:19:17Z")
> [@Cyros](#): > > I just died a bit inside. When I read this my mind went to _Martha Speaks_ and not _Scooby-Doo_. I need to get my daughter watching better TV. Never mind. I first thought it was about “The Canterville Ghost”, and felt stupid when I realised it was about Scooby Doo, you know, when I stopped to give some thought to the mention of that talking dog. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2014, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dang-home-squatters-trying-to-get-rid-of-the-ones-that-just-moved-4-houses-down/686066/47 "2014-04-21T03:30:38Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Yup. Guilty as charged. > > If I wanted to live with trailer trash, I’d move to a mobile home park. > > If I wanted to live with Bill Gates, I’d build a house near his. > > I don’t live where I live so I could have people who don’t deserve to be there, squat there. If you admit bigotry, the fact that you are bothered doesn’t concern me at all. Someone who goes around not wanting to associate with people who are “inferior” to them is not someone whose tastes I want to accommodate. I don’t care if the reason is that they make less money or they have different colored skin. My instinct in the OP’s situation is not to hate the squatters, but to feel sorry for them. Everyone should be able to have a legal place to live. The fact that they have to resort to illegal means means that life has been really bad for them. If a few things had happened differently in my life, I’d be in the same situation. If the market was working properly, there wouldn’t be foreclosed houses for people to squat in. The system has cheated them through no fault of their own. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2014, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dang-home-squatters-trying-to-get-rid-of-the-ones-that-just-moved-4-houses-down/686066/48 "2014-04-21T04:52:56Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > If the market was working properly, there wouldn’t be foreclosed houses for people to squat in. The system has cheated them through no fault of their own. Not commenting on the OP, but this isn’t necessarily true. I’m not saying that there aren’t people who have lost their houses unfairly. But there ARE also those who are responsible for defaulting on their mortgages as well. (My former neighbors, for one, and I’m so glad the bastards are gone, because they were a bunch of pigs.) I think that **jmax31** might provide us with more details as to what he meant by “ghetto” (hopefully it’s not just skin-color). ---
**Author:** ![nevadaexile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb8c5e/32.png) [@nevadaexile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nevadaexile)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2014, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dang-home-squatters-trying-to-get-rid-of-the-ones-that-just-moved-4-houses-down/686066/49 "2014-04-21T05:13:46Z")
> [@Learjeff](#): > > Your friend is very unwise, to make enemies of neighbors he thinks are scofflaws. > > He has everything to lose; they might have very little. **Agreed.** Your friend is getting involved in something which only peripherally concerns him and in which he has no financial stake. If the police have been notified, it’s _ **their** _ job to notify the homeowner, not his. Any further involvement could result in your buddy being assaulted,seriously injured or even worse. And that’s if the people in the home aren’t litigious. If they contact the right attorney your pal could be hit with a nuisance lawsuit and find himself out of pocket for legal fees, a settlement or worse have his homeowner’s policy drop him when his insurance carrier gets sued. This isn’t some adolescent TP’ing of someone’s trees,OP: This is real life. If your friend doesn’t let this go, then it might get a little “too real” for his tastes. ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2014, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dang-home-squatters-trying-to-get-rid-of-the-ones-that-just-moved-4-houses-down/686066/50 "2014-04-21T05:44:57Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Not commenting on the OP, but this isn’t necessarily true. I’m not saying that there aren’t people who have lost their houses unfairly. But there ARE also those who are responsible for defaulting on their mortgages as well. (My former neighbors, for one, and I’m so glad the bastards are gone, because they were a bunch of pigs.) > > I think that **jmax31** might provide us with more details as to what he meant by “ghetto” (hopefully it’s not just skin-color). I obviously cannot speak for **jmax31** , since he’s a stranger to me, but when I personally use the word “ghetto” to refer to someone, I am referring to a mindset and a type of behavior that I see in all skin colors and apparent ethnic origins in my area. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2014, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dang-home-squatters-trying-to-get-rid-of-the-ones-that-just-moved-4-houses-down/686066/51 "2014-04-21T05:47:30Z")
I don’t use it that way either, but some people do. ---
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2014, 9:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dang-home-squatters-trying-to-get-rid-of-the-ones-that-just-moved-4-houses-down/686066/52 "2014-04-21T09:10:00Z")
The way to “turn the power on” is to remove the electric meter. On its back are 3 contacts. The powere company slips plastic sleeves over these tabs and re-istalls the meter. I mention nothing illegal. The gas is more difficult and inherently dangerous, so I will not go there. If the owner doesn’t know this already: the toilets in rental units are infamous for needing to be removed “for repairs”. The property address can be traced at the Recorder’s Office to find legal owner. If the owner doesn’t already know about the above facts, please advise them. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dang-home-squatters-trying-to-get-rid-of-the-ones-that-just-moved-4-houses-down/686066.md?page=2)