|
|
Post by Lexica on Mar 5, 2022 20:34:36 GMT
Have we talked about this yet? I searched, but nothing came up. I just finished watching it and I have mixed feelings about it. I appreciate watching these as a warning of what could go extremely wrong when you rent out your home or share you apartment. Things that I guess I should have considered, but didn't. After watching this series, there is no way I will ever rent out a room in my home to anyone. I have seen a few homes in the town I will be moving to that have "mother-in-law suites" that could be rented out, mostly detached with their own entrance. Nope. Not after watching this show. The stories were horrifying and I found myself getting very, very agitated for these victims. Mainly for the victims of the last two episodes.
I didn't know that a squatter had so many rights! If someone decides they are moving in with you and not going to pay a dime, they can get away with it for months and there isn't a single thing you can do about speeding up the eviction process. How very frustrating.
The two episodes on the last squatter really got to me. He caused so much pain and loss to other people. And the things he was doing that went from simply annoying to completely infuriating! I would be livid if I was living in an apartment that was affected by his running the hot water all day just to drain the tanks to make other tenants in the building angry and the apartment owner have to pay increased bills. Who thinks of things like this? Obviously the guy had some major issues and was punishing everyone around him for things that had happened to him in his childhood, whether that was real or imagined. I wonder how many years of his life did he go without having to pay a dime for his living expenses by taking advantage of other people. And he was supposedly so smart. Why didn't he just pass the bar and make a nice living for himself?
But isn't this teaching people how to go about doing it themselves? I wonder how many people will see these shows and decide to pull the same scheme on someone.
|
|
peabay
Prolific Pea
Posts: 9,630
Jun 25, 2014 19:50:41 GMT
|
Post by peabay on Mar 5, 2022 20:37:55 GMT
these types of folks have been on Judge Judy for years. It's awful - they know how to take advantage of the system and do it well.
|
|
|
|
Post by Neisey on Mar 5, 2022 20:37:56 GMT
I’ll put it on my list to watch.
There was a Pea who had let someone move in with her and had a great deal of difficulty getting them out. Sorry, I don’t remember the name.
|
|
|
|
Post by librarylady on Mar 5, 2022 20:45:59 GMT
OTOH, my friend has an "independent apartment" as part of her home. She built if for her parents and after the parents died, she has rented it. Things have gone well for her because she has not rented to strangers. I think she is on her 3rd long term renter and each time the tenant was either someone she knew or a friend of a friend. I think that is the key to having it be successful.
I always had thought if necessary I could rent a bedroom. I think I would never be willing to go with a total stranger. I've seen too much of disasters on Judge Judy.
|
|
lesley
Drama Llama
My best friend Turriff, desperately missed.
Posts: 7,184 
Location: Scotland, Scotland, Scotland
|
Post by lesley on Mar 5, 2022 20:51:34 GMT
Didn’t you have a stubborn tenant yourself Lexica? How did you come by letting him live in your home? |
|
|
|
Post by rst on Mar 5, 2022 21:02:59 GMT
We have a separate entrance, self contained apartment in the lower level of our house which I rent on Airbnb. It really pays to look into your local laws. For us, important things are never allowing a stay longer than 21 days and never allowing mail or packages to be delivered for the renter to our address.
|
|
|
|
Post by Lexica on Mar 5, 2022 21:43:41 GMT
I’ll put it on my list to watch. There was a Pea who had let someone move in with her and had a great deal of difficulty getting them out. Sorry, I don’t remember the name. I know you have to give them 60 days to vacate in my area (California) which I learned with my renter a few years ago He didn't put up any fuss about it at all though. He caused me some stress, but not by trying to. It was just his odd personality. After posting about it here, I began to wonder if he was on the spectrum. I felt guilty for talking badly about him, but I'm not glad I told him to move out. The guy meant well, but he broke so many things! Not intentionally, he was trying to fix something and would always end up breaking either that thing or something else. And left stuff taped to the windows and the vents in his bedroom that removed the paint when I pulled it off. I had painted that room a few weeks prior to him moving in and still had some paint left, so it wasn't a big ordeal to repaint areas, but just annoying that I had to. He was the boyfriend of my neighbor across the street. She met someone else (ended up married to him) and wanted this guy out. We had known him in the neighborhood for a few years and he was always so nice and helpful to everyone. And really, that didn't change. He was always polite and helpful. He just tried to fix things that he didn't have the skillset to tackle and ended up costing me money. |
|
|
|
Post by rainangel on Mar 5, 2022 23:03:40 GMT
Just watched this, and it is terrifying. I am liking this trend in true crime though in exposing con artists. Inventing Anna, The Tinder Swindler..... These people are living among us, and can ruin so many lives. And for many of the victims they end up out of money, out of trust in others, they are victim-blamed and called stupid. It' s just horrible and a degrading experience to be the victim of a good con man/woman. So I am glad to see these documentaries shedding some awareness that this could happen to most of us.
The squatter laws are so weird to me. I'm in Norway and worked for a while for the gorvernment collection agency, which were the only people authorized to evict people. And the process was LONG! I think if you wanted to get a renter out, and they didn't want to leave, the process was six months. It must be more complicated in the US because that guy hung around for years and years. It's so weird they have that many rights!
Some friends of mine have a holiday apartment in Spain, and they have to be very vigilant about people squatting. It sounded like if someone entered your home, they would immediately have rights to stay and the easiest way to deal with it was just to give up the entire property. I'm sure it's more complicated than that, but my friends have property managers check on the apartment often to make sure no-one is squatting. Apparantly it's a real issue that someone could just enter your property and just steal it from you that easily. So crazy!
I'm so glad I'm done with roommates. I'm sure we all have a few stories to tell from our college days. Hopefully not as serious as in this show.
|
|
|
|
Post by MalleyCat on Mar 6, 2022 19:15:52 GMT
I could never rent out a room in my home to strangers or even people that I know. Too much potential for conflict. Besides, I like my privacy.
We do however rent out our previous home and have had the same tenant for 10 years. She has been great and has kept the home up and pays rent on time. I don't know if I could rent to anyone else, when she ever moves. We will either end up moving back for 2 years to avoid capital gains or do an exchange.
I only saw the Dorothea Puentes episode on that show. I had heard that story previous to watching that episode. Maybe I shouldn't watch the rest of the episodes. I always worried about renting our house out to people who destroyed/squatted in our rental.
|
|
|
|
Post by busy on Mar 6, 2022 19:34:59 GMT
There are plenty of bad tenants (and landlords) out there, that’s definitely true.
But remember that stories are in shows like this - entertainment - precisely because they are so extreme and outliers.
|
|
|
|
Post by Zee on Mar 6, 2022 19:39:27 GMT
I watched the Philadelphia guy today. Wow his last victim was completely unlikeable! I did feel bad for the other two women though it disgusts me that housing is so expensive that someone would consider renting out a tent in someone's living room as a viable option for themselves and their two dogs.
So many people are so very gullible. Maybe some of these shows will help people do a little critical thinking first before jumping into situations. Ask yourself what's the catch. Why does a successful lawyer need a roommate and not have his PA license prior to relocating there?
I'm also watching a 3 part story about a con man in England who told people he was an MI5 spy. Really? And he's willing to blow his cover to you even though you just met?
|
|
|
|
Post by psoccer on Mar 6, 2022 21:11:57 GMT
Someone on our town’s Facebook page suggested that people who had an extra room rent it out since housing is so expensive and difficult to find. His suggestion was shut down quickly, with many people mentioning this show, as well as their own personal experiences. I enjoy my privacy. My grandma had a gentleman live below her house, she had like a mother-in-laws quarter. I just adored him. He was like a member of our family, attending all holiday events, but that was a long time ago.
|
|
|
|
Post by 950nancy on Mar 6, 2022 22:10:09 GMT
I have read too many AITA pieces to think it would be a good idea to rent to a stranger (or even many relatives). I have low tolerance for enjoying people in my home for more than 24 hours. Now I do have friends who rented like this in college and they all had pretty good experiences. I suppose just the bad ones get the exposure.
|
|
|
|
Post by myboysnme on Mar 7, 2022 1:05:53 GMT
When my husband's grandparents were growing up in Philadelphia nearly everyone had a boarder or two. Most all were men. Back then there was also a YMCA and YWCA were people could get a room. It was so common to supplement income with boarders.
I truly do not know what people now can do to find a place. When I was in college and my boyfriend and I broke up for a while I started the process of looking for a roommate, which made me so bummed because I truly did not want to share my place but couldn't afford it on my own. As it turned out we got back together and moved anyway.
I know some friends of my son's let his ex girlfriend move into a room they had and she brought 3 animals. It took them 3 years to get her out and she wasn't paying rent. They just didn't want to put her on the street and she was truly pitiful. Now she has moved in with a married couple and I'm sure that will not end up well either.
My house is not set up for a renter or boarder unless they had no kitchen access and we shared the laundry. There is a separate stair case that you can enter through the garage and there is a full bath. But before I could rent out that space I would likely make plans to sell and downsize. My boys can move back in and they can bring spouses and children, and my mom could move in but if she did it would be because she needs a single story and I can't offer that very easily unless I convert my living/dining to her area and put in door. She would still be right next to the kitchen, family room and bathroom. For my mom I would do that. And my boys. No one else. I hope I never have to consider anything else.
|
|
|
|
Post by bc2ca on Mar 7, 2022 3:35:52 GMT
When my husband's grandparents were growing up in Philadelphia nearly everyone had a boarder or two. Most all were men. Back then there was also a YMCA and YWCA were people could get a room. It was so common to supplement income with boarders.  My Greek in-laws had many boarders over the years (60-80s), all young new immigrant Greek men. DH, his brother and one or two boarders shared a large attic room for most of his teen years. A few weeks ago, a friend was talking about how in the 60s he slept on a fold-away mattress in the dining room as his bedroom was rented out. |
|
|
|
Post by auntkelly on Mar 7, 2022 14:38:10 GMT
When I first started practicing law over 30 years ago, I represented a bank in a home foreclosure. The man who owned the home had died. His body was found in the home. It was so badly decayed, the authorities could not determine a cause of death. They suspected that a vagrant who was found living in the house with the dead body, had killed the homeowner. However, since the body was so badly decomposed that even a cause of death could not be established, it was impossible to prove the vagrant murdered the homeowner. The vagrant was charged with the lesser charge of improper disposal of a dead body.
|
|
|
|
Post by MalleyCat on Mar 8, 2022 18:19:56 GMT
I'm currently watching the episode on the squatter, Jamison! What a nightmare! 😳
It's sad how the laws protect people like this! 🤯
|
|
smartypants71
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,714
Location: Houston, TX
|
Post by smartypants71 on Mar 8, 2022 20:30:39 GMT
I just watched the first episode this weekend. It's just amazing that we could solve any type of serial crimes before digital recordkeeping. That lady had been a menace to society decades before she was caught. If it weren't for that social worker's persistence, I'm not sure anything would have happened!
|
|
|
|
Post by MalleyCat on Mar 9, 2022 5:03:08 GMT
I watched the Philadelphia guy today. Wow his last victim was completely unlikeable! I did feel bad for the other two women though it disgusts me that housing is so expensive that someone would consider renting out a tent in someone's living room as a viable option for themselves and their two dogs. So many people are so very gullible. Maybe some of these shows will help people do a little critical thinking first before jumping into situations. Ask yourself what's the catch. Why does a successful lawyer need a roommate and not have his PA license prior to relocating there? I'm also watching a 3 part story about a con man in England who told people he was an MI5 spy. Really? And he's willing to blow his cover to you even though you just met? Really? I liked her the best! She came up with some creative ideas to make him want to leave.😉 I can't believe the one woman that he lived with for 4 years!😳 |
|
