With all the vacant houses, and soon to be vacant businesses, there are growing opportunities for squatting, and growing numbers of people who need a free
place to live. I only squatted once for less than two weeks, so I'm not really qualified to give advice. Does anyone know of any good "how to
squat" websites or books, with information on picking a place, getting in, getting utilities, dealing with neighbors, etc? Does anyone want to write one?
Squatting
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 Ran |
Squatting |
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Posts: 57 (10/14/08 18:23:11) Administrator |
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im2park |
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Posts: 23 (10/14/08 18:31:16) |
A question for anybody thats experienced with squatting,
usually foreclosed homes are locked up, how would you gain entry? would you just throw a rock at one of the windows and climb in? |
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fooqwah |
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Posts: 1 (10/14/08 19:55:14) |
Everything depends on the type of squat. There are generally two types, front door squats, and window squats. The latter is more common, you find a vacant
place, force open a window and there you go. The benefits of this type of squat is that you can live there unnoticed by the neighbors as long as you take care
with who sees you walking around the house. The downside is that you can't have electricity at a window squat. For one thing, the neighbors will notice an
electricity truck in front of an empty house and will wonder whats going on. Mostly though the problem is that you can't have lights on if the neighbors
think the place is empty. Its a giveaway.
Front door squats on the other hand are great. These are easier in bad neighborhoods and the countryside. You still force your way into the window, but once you do, you can go in and out of the front door, since in the countryside no one will see, and in bad neighborhoods no one will care. Electricity is easy, you don't have to prove the house is yours. Just know where the boxes are for the electrician to use, and be nice about it. As far as picking a place goes, finished basements are great. You can get the electric hooked up in a window squat if it has a basement. Curtain the windows so no light shows (or maybe there are no windows) and you can get the best of both worlds. One more piece of advice, if youre squatting in a window squat, watch where you park. Don't park in front of people's houses, especially when they're home, because they'll watch to see where you go. Park against a fenceline where your car can't be seen from the house or park near apartments. |
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stereomouse |
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Posts: 10 (10/15/08 00:18:30) |
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symbollocks |
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Posts: 7 (10/15/08 07:58:45) |
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keith |
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Posts: 6 (10/15/08 08:26:30) |
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Last Edited By: keith
12/24/09 18:42:56.
Edited 1 times.
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im2park |
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Posts: 24 (10/15/08 09:21:44) |
keith? thats not the type of squatting we're talking about.........
the main threat to you when you're squatting in a "For-sale" or abandoned home is the neighbors ratting you out to the police. I've never squatted before but I think instead of being all covert and sneaky about it, you should make it look like you bought the house and the house is rightfully yours. You can rip the for-sale sign out of the yard and dump it somewhere. Clean the house up and give welcoming gifts to your neighbors and say to them that you're new to the neighborhood and you live in that particular house. If all goes well, the time period for adverse posession will be over (check that link that symbollocks posted) and the house will belong to you.
Last Edited By: im2park
10/15/08 09:28:13.
Edited 1 times.
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natrually |
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Posts: 28 (10/15/08 10:10:12) |
Maybe he was being satirical?
I was actually thinking of posting something along the lines of this topic. I don't want to hijack the thread but I'd like to pose a question to everyone about free or MINIMAL income housing. Are any of you currently in some situation like this? I'm paying monthly rent and it's definitely my biggest expense. I'm okay with it for now and I really like my place, but in the near future I'd not like to spend much money on rent. I know Ran has spoken of house sitting, but I think you have to be very lucky to have those connections. Housing Coops/Collectives are another outlet, but there isn't one in my town (although there is a hostel for sale that would make an amazing coop). Anyway, I have a zine called Survival Without Rent. It was last revised in 1989 so while the information isn't all TOO recent, I would say it is very effective. It covers everything from finding a group, to finding a building, to repairs and law enforcement. The zine has lots of useful illustrations with fundamentals of carpentry and how to fix things up but sadly only the text is online. I'll see if I can scan some images at the library. You can also order it from Microcosm if you're really curious. -Nat |
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chicken lady |
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Posts: 15 (10/15/08 16:38:41) |
I think if you pick the right neighborhood, one that has been hit hard by foreclosures and has a lot of vacancies, and act in a positive neighborly way (mow
the lawn, etc) there are probably a lot of people who would rather have you there than not, even if they know you are squatting. An occupied, well-maintained
house would be perceived by neighbors as elevating property values on the street, and vacant houses bring criminal activity. But the thing I'm wondering
is, how does it do anybody any good (except people looking to squat) if there are a ton of vacant houses and a ton of people with nowhere to live? Like, how
does that make any sense at all?
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zombans |
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Posts: 264 (10/15/08 18:10:51) Moderator |
I've never squatted myself, knowingly as an adult, but I have friends who have. I wrote a zine about it a long time ago, but am no expert. I'm in a
neighborhood with a lot of vacant housing. There are a ton of rental houses, several of which will have a quick in-and-out renter, followed by 6 months of
vacancy. I don't know how these places stay in business (or what business they may be in). There are houses that have been empty for years. If someone
moved in, no one would be the wiser. Sure, I'd think you bought it or are renting it, but even if you didn't, I wouldn't care. Having people
LIVING in our neighborhood would be nice, especially nice ones who get the concept of community. I have no moral obligation to something called a legal
purchase. The statistic quoted is that 40% of our larger geographical area is not owned by the inhabitant, but in my particular neighborhood, it is much
higher.
I agree chicken lady. We have a skyrocketing homeless population in our town, a burgeoning tourism industry (anyone coming here to party with Abe Lincoln on his 200th birthday next year?), and a nervous magistrate and business class. Many houses have been leveled in the last couple of years around here, with dozens more bearing the official notice of green and red tags and spraypaint on the front. It does not take an advanced degree to realize there is a problem and a solution waiting to find each other. I have met a lot of homeless folks over the years, and I would feel more comfortable with them as neighbors than businessmen. Crimethinc has a book called Evasion about a kid who paid no rent. There's also a zine called off the map, and although it's backpacking Europe, they also paid no rent. There is wwoofing, working and living the farm life. There are tons of intentional communities to look into. My mom hasn't paid rent in 25 years. If you have a bit of money, a house can be had for extremely cheap around now. Abandoned lots here start at $650, and camping in town is legal. I subscribe to a magazine called Countryside, and there are often letters from older folks who seek younger folks to help out on the farm. carey |
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Ran |
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Posts: 59 (10/15/08 20:15:02) Administrator |
im2park wrote: Um, I think the real estate agency will catch you within days, even faster if they see their sign is gone. If a house is for sale, that means someone is paying attention to it. |
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zombans |
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Posts: 268 (10/16/08 07:55:26) Moderator |
Ran wrote: "Um, I think the real estate agency will catch you within days, even faster if they see their sign is gone. If a house is for sale, that means
someone is paying attention to it."
This is not the case where we live. I'm sure it depends on the owners of the house and the realtor, though. A for sale sign was ripped out of a lot down the street & it has never been replaced. For some realtors, having a sign there means their work is done & they don't worry about it any longer, apparently. I get the feeling these houses must be owned by people who keep them empty for tax write-offs, or they are foreign-owned, or something out of the ordinary. carey |
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symbollocks |
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Posts: 9 (10/16/08 08:50:26) |
I've been testing the squatting waters recently, just testing to see if a house is really abandoned. I've put duct tape strips (just a couple inches)
across all the doors (usually at the top of the door, so they don't see it) so that when it is opened the strip is torn away and it is obvious someone has
been inside. It's important to do all the doors though, because you don't know which door they will go in.
Right now I've got my eyes on two locations in my area: a couple beat up houses that were supposed to have been demolished to make room for upper-middle class townhouses, but since the housing bubble popped construction has been put on hold indefinitely. The other place is an abandoned pet store that went out of business years ago, that still has window signs up from when it was in business and is basically untouched. |
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zombans |
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Posts: 269 (10/16/08 11:23:16) Moderator |
Both these places sound viable, symbollocks. One of my friends was looking around our downtown area, and found a recently abandoned building with a hole big
enough for him to climb through. He was surprised that there was no evidence of squatters already, especially considering the office had electricity and
running water.
When my daughter was a baby, and we had a car, I drove around our downtown area, looking for abandoned buildings to list in our squat zine. Many of the buildings are still vacant 6-7 years later. carey |
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hassysmacker |
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Posts: 2 (10/17/08 09:25:26) |
fooqwah wrote: First off, to get utilities for a building in which they are shut off, in my experience, and maybe it was just the company I used, I needed a copy of the lease and proof of residence, mail, etc.. Is this not usually the case? Secondly, is anyone aware of online lists of foreclosed properties (preferably free)? |
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hassysmacker |
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Posts: 5 (10/19/08 08:11:11) |
Seriously, can anyone answer my two questions?
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dbaker84 |
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Posts: 1 (10/19/08 23:29:50) |
A few things things...
Utilities: The past few times I've changed residences, all I had to do to switch utilities into my own name was call the company and say something to the effect of, "I just moved in as of XYZ date, can you switch the utilities to my name?" I've yet to have them require anything at all. This may be different in other states (I'm in Utah), and it may be different if they are turning them back on as opposed to simply switching the name. List of Distressed Properties: Unfortunately, with the massive amount of foreclosures, many people have made their livings picking through them. Most of the time there is a public notice section somewhere in your local paper that will list them, but keep in mind that there will be hundreds if not thousands of investors scoping these pages for deals. It may be wise to keep a log of all these properties, then check back in a few months. I'd bet that most will get sold pretty quick, but a few might slip through the cracks. Real Estate Agencies: I would advise against squatting in a house that has a for-sale sign on it. Removing the sign can get you in a lot of trouble of they catch you, and most agents won't hesitate to call the cops (and the owner) on a property they have listed. They make their money by selling properties, and most of them are epic jerkoffs about "their" properties. I've worked around agents before that cared more about the condition of the house than the occupants did. One guy was notorious for making complaints about neighbors' properties (lawn, trees, etc) in an effort to drive the price of his properties up. I'd avoid the entire RE industry and all its minions. One squatting technique a friend told me about was getting access to a list of death certificates. He'd find out everyone who had died recently and try to locate where they lived. He'd watch those properties over the next few months, and occassionally he'd find one that had never been emptied or sold. Additionally, if he didn't want to squat there he'd at least pick through the house for useful stuff. I guess if no one cared after 6 months, they probably wouldn't miss a few tools or blankets. I wonder if it would be better to squat in a building with outstanding taxes, or one that is current. I would bet that there are a ton of "lost" properties that are abandoned but still being paid for by some company that is oblivious to the small tax bill they get once a year. If the building had been abandoned for some time (years) but the taxes were current, I'd think that it would be a pretty safe place to stay. |
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im2park |
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Posts: 25 (10/20/08 11:33:16) |
how would one go about obtaining a list of death certificates?
Any websites? |
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chicken lady |
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Posts: 16 (10/20/08 20:45:36) |
I was curious to see what houses in my neighborhood had been foreclosed so I tried to look it up on the internet one day, and all I found were a bunch of sites
charging a monthly fee for FORECLOSURES IN YOUR AREA!!! But the people who run these sites must be getting their info from somewhere....
To find out who has died you can always look in the obituaries. That whole plan makes me sad for some reason though. |
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wolfbird |
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Posts: 300 (10/27/08 13:18:38) |
Here's a site about squatting and abandoned buildings in Sheffield, made by a group calling themselves Underclass Rising.
http://underclassrising.net/enter.html |
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SBHikes |
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Posts: 3 (01/05/10 07:10:39) |
Why bother to rip out the real estate sign and lie that you bought the place. You're housesitting until the property is sold.
Here, maybe this will help. http://www.foreclosedhomes.com |
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