Portlanders desperately try to sell off homes taken over by squatters
Think it can't happen here in Ontario? Sorry, it certainly can and it has already.
"Unfortunately there are squatters on the property and seller does not have resources to remove them and is willing to negotiate the price for a buyer to take the risk of closing."
The Post Millennial
Hannah Nightingale
29 July 2022
A two bedroom, three bathroom single family home has been placed on the market in Portland’s Southeast neighborhood for $330,000.
There’s a catch though. The buyer that ultimately ends up purchasing the home will be tasked with removing squatters that have taken over the property.
The home, placed for sale on Realtor.com, features photos only of the outside of the house, which sits at 5256 SE Flavel St. These exterior photos show copious amounts of trash strewn around the backyard, as well as numerous broken cars in the driveway.
"Unfortunately there are squatters on the property and seller does not have resources to remove them and is willing to negotiate the price for a buyer to take the risk of closing," the house’s listing reads on Realtor.com.
The neighborhood has reportedly become a hub of homeless people taking advantage of vacant homes, with neighbors saying that they now live in fear for their safety.
According to KGW8, neighbors have begun barricading unused doors in their houses, investing in security systems, and buying things like baseball bats intended for self protection.
"It’s unbearable to watch your whole city become a dumpster fire,"
"It’s unbearable to watch your whole city become a dumpster fire," said Annette Benedetti, who lives near homes on Southeast 67th Avenue that have sat abandoned and have since had numerous homeless people move in, with RVs lining the streets.
In early July, Benedetti said that 16 homeless people had moved into the neighborhood.
"It’s a living nightmare," added Dustin Shannon, another neighbor who has lived there for 19 years. "There’s no peace of mind, there is no sleeping well at night — every little noise, I’m jumpy."
Shannon’s backyard is next to one of these Southeast Portland vacant homes, and he frequently picks up needles and trash from a path that runs behind his house, an area that he no longer lets his grandson play in.
"It just gets worse and worse by the day, more and more of them are showing up," he said. "Stolen cars are showing up, they’ve got a pile of garbage out back that is taller than me."
Both Benedetti and Shannon describe violence and shootings in the area, with limited police response due to staffing shortfalls.
"We’ve barricaded our backdoor at this point, blocked it off," said Shannon. "We’re not gun proponents, but we’ve invested in that. We’ve got a security system in place and I keep a bat at both my back and front door."
Another one of these vacant homes stands at the corner of SE Division Street and 76th Avenue, just a couple miles away from Flavel st.
This property previously had homeless people living in it, and caught fire. The owner of the property had plans to remodel the home, but the plans fell through shortly before the fire.
Now, a couple lives in the run down home, with neighbors telling KATU2 that the pair scopes the neighborhood for things to take from cars and houses.
"We feel very vulnerable here because they’re so bold. We have people coming in and out of there are nighttime thieves. The one guy had all black on. Except for his white socks that were up to here. And you could see these white socks walking up and down and that’s all you could see. That’s how bold they are," said neighbor Dennis Kelley.
Another anonymous neighbor said that her house had been broken into, with expensive guitars and a camera stolen after robbers broke in through an air conditioning unit in a vacant unit next to hers.
"These were precious items we were wanting to keep for a long time, they were very important. It’s not about the money, it’s about what they took," she said.
A group of neighbors later decided to break into vacant home to recover their belongings, and were shocked at the state of the house.
"We went in. It’s filthy. There’s human waste in the closets, there’s pornography, there’s drug paraphernalia, there’s torn out siding, doors propped against windows where the fire has burned through. (Another neighbor) found his bag, he found his wallet and a few other things, and we found a metal Columbian tin that was in my husband’s top desk. Proof that they were in there and that’s where they went after the burglary," the neighbor told KATU2.
little interest from buyers
This property has reportedly been for sale for a while, with little interest from buyers.
"So this is an ongoing issue. And I just want to have the thing razed. I want to have the property developed into something. Maybe the local Asian community or APANO can turn it into a garden or a community space or something along those lines," one neighbor said.
Another home, located at the corner of SE Division St and SE 154 Avenue, faced a similar fate, with squatters reportedly setting fire to the living room, according to a Redfin.com posting.
"Squatters caused a fire in downstairs bed and living room. Trash inside home. Squatters now removed. Sellers are selling AS-IS and price is adjusted for that. RM1-Buyer to verify zoning and schools, buyer to do due diligence. Corner lot allows for duplex and possibly triplex. Tear down and build single family, multi-family or restore current home. Major smoke damage through-out. Interior viewing with accepted offer. Ok to drive by and walk around," the posting read.
This home sold for $195,000 in November of 2021.
Another home outside of Portland and Oregon City was listed earlier this year and sold for $180,000, complete with"squatters in the barn," according to a Zillow listing.
Another one of these situations came in the form of the "Red House" an autonomous "eviction blockade."
According to the Oregonian, a developer bought the home at a foreclosure auction in 2018, but the family remained inside the home, with far-left activists barricading the property and attacking officers who attempted to clear it.
In late 2020, an apparent deal had reportedly been struck, but according to a February 2021 article by the Oregonian, that deal never materialized.
As the property lies in limbo, people in the neighborhood have reported increased cases of harassment, vandalism and threats, with some neighbors reporting finding human waste on their property.
The Kinneys, who lived at the property for decades before losing it to foreclosure for failing to pay their mortgage for a year and a half, no longer appear to be living at the property, but visit regularly.
Instead, activists and homeless people have appeared to takeover the home and the neighboring empty lot, with tents being erected.
Portland man returns to find apartment taken over by squatters
KGW8 News (click on link to watch the video)
20 January 2022
A Northeast Portland resident left his apartment for several months to help take care of his mother.
Then his landlord called to report people living in his apartment. "I didn't sleep at all for the first 24 hours," said the man, who wants to remain anonymous.
The man told KGW he locked up his apartment and left town in August. He spent the rest of the year at his mom's side, and would have stayed longer had he not gotten a call from the managers of his apartment complex last week.
They said somebody was living in his apartment. "I don't know," he said. "It was like my brain flat lined. I was like call the police, nobody should be in my unit, I didn't give anybody my key."
Sault tenant lives in fear after squatters take over building
'I feel like I'm under siege,' says Steve Masters
A tenant residing at 138 Gore Street says squatters have occupied his apartment building by taking over two rental units and the basement. The man is now seeking a police escort to enter and exit the premises after receiving threats of physical violence from one of the squatters. James Hopkin/SooToday
Sault Today
James Hopkin
05 August 2022
A Sault Ste. Marie man says he now fears for his life every time he enters or leaves his downtown apartment due to squatters taking over the building.
Steve Masters lives in a rental unit inside 138 Gore Street, a building that at one time housed the now-defunct Neighbourhood Resource Centre.
He says that people have been squatting in two of the apartments and the basement, and a small encampment has been established underneath the staircase behind the building within the past few days.
“Literally, they’ve infested the building.
“Literally, they’ve infested the building. There were six of them in the hallway as I was trying to get to the door today,” said Masters, speaking with SooToday Wednesday. “They’re setting up camp again — tarps are stretched out under the stairs.”
Masters says that after obtaining police escorts in and out of his apartment on Monday and Tuesday of this week, one of the squatters threatened to throw him down a flight of stairs Wednesday “and kick my ass if I came back.”
“I walked out my door the other night, and the hallway was soaking wet with urine and vomit,” said Masters, adding that he’s also found human feces in the building’s front entrance.
copper piping being stripped
There have been two instances within the past month where the building was without running water due to copper piping being stripped from it.
Masters went without running water for four days at one point a couple of weeks ago before the property owners resolved the issue. He says his water stopped working again this past Monday.
“I’m hauling five-gallon jugs of water up so I can fill my toilet, so I can at least flush it and clean myself,” Masters said, adding that he hasn’t been able to do dishes or laundry in the days the building has been without water. “The only running water I have right now is the water running through the leaking roof, which I am really not expecting them to address anytime soon.”
Masters says people living at the former encampment at the corner of Gore Street and Albert Street East were driven elsewhere after it was torn down by Sault Ste. Marie Police Service July 28 — in conjunction with social services, community outreach workers, paramedics and the city’s public works department — amid growing concerns around health and public safety.
Bylaw enforcement reached out to Masters yesterday about 138 Gore Street, but he would like to see the matter resolved quickly due to concerns for his own safety.
“I feel like I’m under siege, and seeing the tarps being set up again when I left for work this morning, that just makes me sick to my stomach,” said Masters. “Why, after going through all the effort of breaking down the camp, are they letting it happen again?
“There was no follow through after they tore the camp down. I swear, their concerns for public safety and health left when those vehicles left the parking lot,” he continued. “Police have been fantastic, but they can only do so much.”
RWC Management is the residential property management company that began managing 138 Gore Street this past September.
a plumber and a tenant being attacked in addition to other staff members.
In an email to SooToday Wednesday, RWC employee IB Fabian said the “building was invaded by drug addicts and trespasser[s]” over the summer, resulting in a plumber and a tenant being attacked in addition to other staff members.
“We have gotten the police involved several times and they clear them out, we board up the place and they come right back,” Fabian said.
RWC Management says it is “currently working with the police to be present this Friday to clear out these drug addicts, board up the place and get a plumber in there again.”
The property management company also says that it is now offering Masters unspecified compensation and a possible relocation to another property.
On Thursday, members of Sault Ste. Marie Police Service were seen speaking with individuals at the makeshift shelter under the staircase behind 138 Gore Street. SooToday has reached out to police for details.
Masters told SooToday Wednesday that he’s now at a “breaking point.”
“Perhaps when more people are aware of the situation, the city will step up and take a more active role and see the situation to its end rather than just wash their hands and walk away. I don’t know if that’s possible,” he said.
Freddie Pozzebon, chief building official for the City of Sault Ste. Marie, says the municipality is currently in the process of issuing an order to remedy violation to the property management company under the city's property standards bylaw.
"At this time, we cannot speak to the matter due to confidentially," Pozzebon informed SooToday via email Thursday. "We are pursuing the matter of no water service and other issues with the building."
I have not heard of drug addicts and vagrants taking over condo units yet. However, it may happen someday. Thanks to the Internet, news travels fast and the American west coast starts many new trends. Who could have expected it to happen in northern Ontario?