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O.T. Unwanted squater in my fishing cabin.

Mark John

Aluminum
Joined
Aug 14, 2006
Location
Allendale, Mi
I have a problem with some guy who moved in to my fishing cabin over the winter. Bam, just cut the lock and moved in. The man is a pro, I have the feeling he has done this before. I called the cops and they said he has to be evicted before they can do anything.

Any ideas on how to remove this jerk. I called an attorney but fees could reach $4oo or more. I can't turn off the power, propane or water because he has tenants rights. He has already stuck me for $2oo in propane. I have to get him out but how?
 
Is there an Outlaw motorcycle club near you?

Find a badass to rent the cabin to and have him move in with the squater.

What law says you have to keep the power and gas on in a cabin that a squatter has taken over?

why did you call the police in the first place. He is trespassing, not renting. Make a citizens arrest and get him out.
 
move yourself in. with a shotgun

shoot him when he breaks in on you.

well no i wouldnt kill esomeone for squatting...

but the police are wrong. you dont have a rental agreement. he's tresspassing. and stealing. and the police are just lazy.
 
How do they explain their theory that the crime of breaking and entering gains a criminal tenant's rights? Sounds to me like a bunch of typical deadass cops who'd rather write tickets for speeding 5mph over the limit instead of doing their jobs.

Eviction laws vary by state. My dad had a deadbeat renter in a house he owns a couple years ago. He went to the county courthouse and checked on the eviction procedure himself. All he had to do was tape an eviction notice to both doors and then wait so many days, 7 I think it was, and if they weren't out by then the sherriff would physically remove them. They left.

In your situation, my first stop at the courthouse would be the district attorney's office. Assuming the statute of limitations still covers the B&E, which it would for sure anywhere in the country if this only occurred a few months ago, the DA should be able to initiate the process to have him arrested and get the cops off their butts to actually do their jobs.
 
Can you stake the place out and change the locks when he leaves to go get a pack of smokes? Or would that violate his "rights".:mad:
 
I had a friend whos elderly mother coud not get a non paying tenant out for months. My friend's husband said he'd take care of it and found a guy that "specialized" in these types of thing. The guy, who was huge and mean looking, showed up. Knocked at the door. When the guy opened the door he grabbed him by the hair, shoved a pistol to his neck and told him to be out by 5:00 or he was going to kill him. After that my friend said it was like a silent comedy. The tenant raced off came back with a U Haul and the whole family threw as much stuff in the U Haul as They could and left by 4:30.......

Not sure how many laws were broken there but it sure was effective. He never told his ma in law how he did it but she was sure happy.....
 
How about say this (while holding an evil black rifle)
"Get out NOW, or I will shoot you!
You have broken into my ... whatever"

Or just go inside while armed with a pistol. "AHHH burglar! BAM, BAM, BAM, BAM, BAM, BAM,BAM!!!! Reload, BAM, BAM BAM,BAM!!!)

Done.
 
squatter

Ok, I live in Michigan and I would like to understand this. Is the cabin an actual residence type building or is it more like a deer camp? Have you told the guy to get out? What did the cops say they could do after he is out? Why couldn't you just call them back and say that a person broke into your cabin to steal and he is still there? They would have to treat it like a break-in wouldn't they? If you go the lawyer way a "resident" would be given 90 days before the sherriffs would remove him. Near the end of it the guy would probably just leave. The guy has to go out for food doesn't he? When he does you could go in and load his stuff and haul it out of there. Set up a trail camera and try to catch him in the act of breaking in. The cops would have to arrest him then. I would be cautious about a more direct eviction approach. In Kalamazoo last year a group of illegal Mexicans were robbing a scrap metel business once a week or so. The owner and a couple of his workers laid in wait for them and caught them in the act of stealing blocks of alluminum. They were hauling them along a path that led to a RR track where cars were parked. The owners ruffed them up a bit, took their wallets and cell phones away. They tied them up called the cops. An onslaught of detectives, prosecuters, and cops showed up and arrested the owner and his workers. They were charged with kiddnapping felonies, assault, racial slander, and a host of other charges. After a year of discovery and court procedings, the business owner and employees were found guilty of assault but did not get convcted of felony charges. All of the illegal Mexicans were set free. What a load of sh#t! The sense of values in this country is really screwed up.
Brock
 
Yep, he is trespassing and stealing. Don't need an attorney he's breaking several laws. Get the cops to do their job. What county is the cabin in (assuming the cabin is also in MI)? If the locals won't do it, call the County, if the County won't do it, call the Staties. We've never had a problem like that, but also never had a problem getting the cops to respond.

In fact where exactly is the cabin? I am from MI (up north :)) and get up there quite often and might need a place to stay. You seem like a nice guy, I promise to be gentle with it :)


Greg
 
It's always gratifying to run mental pictures of doing vengeful things to people who take advantage of you. However it's best to do these things by the numbers. The bad guy can always come back and torch your place out of vengence.

Let the law handle it if you can but give then the tools. Take pictures, assemble a chronology including the action (or lack of actions) taken by the cops, etc. Present this to the city or county prosecutor. If you get no immediate action (3 days) there, your next stop is the mayor, city council, county commissioners, etc. After that comes the state atty general. Everyone has a boss.

B&E and squatting are criminal acts; a squatter has no rights of tenancy; you don't need to sue to evict.
 
This is first degree burglary, plain and simple. You need to get a lot more vocal with the police. Tell them to do their damn jobs If this were my place, I wouldn't be above going up there with a shotgun and kicking his ass right out of there.
 
This one's easy:

Go to the fish/poultry section of the supermarket. But 10 lbs of salmon or catfish and put it in the ventilation system, or anywhere hidden in the cabin.

If he's not out in one week then you're not dealing with a human being. Either that or he really takes a liking to homeless chicks.
 
Call the newspaper- tell em what the cops told you.
My guess is when the reporter calls the cops, to ask em if they really wont go talk to the guy, the cops will suddenly get responsive.
 
How do they explain their theory that the crime of breaking and entering gains a criminal tenant's rights? Sounds to me like a bunch of typical deadass cops who'd rather write tickets for speeding 5mph over the limit instead of doing their jobs...

Yup, anyone with common sense would agree but remember, we live in a system with laws not based on common sense but instead written by bleeding heart politicians and corrupted by wide-eyed, dope-smoking activists. There likely is something written into the laws that gives this guy certain tennants rights now that he can claim he has "established" a "residence". As you note, he has likely done this before so you can assume he is exploiting this loophole to his advantage.

Similarly, all this talk of shotguns and breaking knee caps etc, while perfectly acceptable and rational to the rest of us, would likely end up resulting in civil and/or criminal prosecution by the same system that places Political Correctness over enforcement Property Rights. If this scum-bag is aware of how to game the system, he would also likely be aware of how to use other loopholes to claim his civil liberties or some such non-sense were being violated and bring some kind of lawsuit, even ending up owning your cabin. And heaven help you if he is a minority! Likely he has even been counselled on this at sometime by various "civil-rights" groups or bottom-feeding laywers. Hell, wouldn't surprise me if he got the instructions for this scheme on the internet somewhere (likely a Berkely based discussion group).

My advice would be to do this by the book, no matter how painful. Then once he's out, lock the place down like Fort Knox!
 
This should raise collective blood pressure levels:

The clock is running; under some circumstances if someone squats long enough, they can claim legal title to the property.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adverse_possession
Adverse possession is in some ways similar to homesteading. Like the adverse possessor, the homesteader may gain title to property by using the land and fulfilling certain other conditions. In homesteading, however, the possession of the property is not hostile; the land is either considered to have no legal owner or it is owned by the government. The government allows the homesteader to use the land with the expectation that the homesteader who fulfills the requirements necessary for the homestead will gain title to the property.

The homestead principle and squatter's rights embody the most basic concept of property and ownership, which can be summed up by the adage "possession is nine-tenths of the law"; in other words, "the person who uses the property owns it". The homestead principle and squatter's rights pre-date formal property laws and to a large degree modern property law is a formalization and expansion of these simple ideas.

The homestead principle is the idea that if no one is using or possessing property, the first person to claim it and use it consistently over a period of time owns the property. Squatter's rights embodies the idea that if one property owner neglects property and fails to use it, and a second person starts to tend and use the property, then after a certain period of time the first person's claim to the property is lost and ownership transfers to the second person, who is actually using the property.

Local cops, DA, county sheriff, private security "contractor", whatever, get him out if you like the cabin.
 
Another thought. Do you have a relative or close friend that you trust that is currently unemployed or retired? Maybe they can slip into the cabin when your tresspasser is out and do some squatting themselves. Your tresspasser will then have to find another victim.

Is the local sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane? The cops sound pretty spineless or else they truly have not legal authority to remove him. I guess that's what you'll pay an attorney for.:(
 
Hi Mark,
Give me the address and I will send my ex wife right away!:D
That will be sure to get his butt moving, sorry I couldn't resist.

I agree with previous suggestion of going up the food chain and get the cops and the legal system to do their job!:mad:

Good luck, Kevin.
 
Call the newspaper- tell em what the cops told you.
My guess is when the reporter calls the cops, to ask em if they really wont go talk to the guy, the cops will suddenly get responsive.

I would also advise against this too. Again, while perfectly reasonable to the rest of us, this would likely backfire in that:

  1. You would lose any future good will from the Police / DA who you will eventually need on your side at some point to resovle this situation.
  2. With the press involed, the dirt-bag squatter could notify his maggot-infested support group and next thing you know you have Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson holding news conferences on YOUR doorstep showing what an evil, discriminating, heartless bastard you are and demanding "JUSTICE".

Sadly, I'm not joking here either!
 
My dad told me that his father had a rental home behind thier's in northern Maine. The guy stopped paying rent and even back 60+ years ago, evicting somebody with kids was well nigh unto impossible. So, Grampy decided that winter to "replace" the windows at a very slow pace (nighttime temps get to -40 F.). They left, but shortly thereafter it mysteriously burned down.

One thing to keep in mind, this may be maniac with a gun, but maybe not - willing to roll the dice???... Force the law to do what we all pay them to do!!!! It has to be a one step operation to get him out or it may be more that Propane that gets burned - they have nothing to loose as it is not thiers and you could be a dead duck in the middle of nowhere - they have already established a criminal pattern. This is not a guy who got lost and is waiting for the weather to clear in a day or two. He has violated your property. At least for now, we are still allowed to own things.

I like the stink it up idea, just make sure its a temporary re-odorizing so that it is usable less than 6 months from now.
 








 
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