Hey BP community - so here’s the issue I am facing with my duplex in ROCHESTER NY. I own a property next to a grocery store. Lately there has been some groups of dealers selling drugs on the corner and at times they come and hang out on my front porch. I already lost a really good long time tenant to this situation. I have gotten the police and the commissioners office involved and even had conference calls with them to eradicate this situation and have not gotten anywhere. They keep promising they will do something about it and nothing in the last 90

Days. Now I am thinking of dumping the property and getting out of it but can’t even find a decent buyer because everyone that comes to see it is intimidated by the crowd.

Any advice will be helpful and also if someone knows anyone at the RPD that can assist will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Put up motion sensor flood lights and many big security cameras, especially covering all the porch and edges of the property where one would enter.  Put the cameras outside in plain site, and also in the windows too.  Make sure they record to a website/cloud and not a tape that can be taken.  Ask the neighbors if they would like to put some up too.  Offer to install if they pay for them.  

Give the cops the recordings so they have evidence of the drug deals and hopefully they will send an undercover agent to buy and pick up the trash.

Drug dealers just hate the light and being recorded.

Call the police and have them trespassed real simple solution if they're on your property. Why are you going around the problem instead of dealing with it

@Aqil Dharamsey sorry to hear you are dealing with this. I live in New Orleans and my cousin has a duplex with the exacr same issue. He as well as previous tenants have called tge police to make reports to no avail. He has even called the FBI and been told "oh yeah, we know about them and what they are doing but they aren't selling enough drugs for us to worry about." I hate to say it but a lot of people don't understand how big govt/business works but think about it for a second if there was no crime or war on drugs to fight how many local/state/federal law enforcemwnt agents would lose their jobs. I don't think they want the criminals gone. Best of luck with getting a solution sorry you are dealing eith something like this.

@Lynnette E. This is probably the best solution this his problems.

@Aqil Dharamsey I’m just wondering where in rochester as I live in canandaigua and have been thinking of investing in rochester real estate. I work in Greece so I know that area a little, but not to comfortable within the city.

Aqil

Schedule a meeting with the section commander at RPD and discuss if the camera room has a good vantage point of your address. If not, Lynette is spot on with her assessment.

Sant - this isn't Kentucky my friend. Rochester has a higher per capita rate of violent crime than NYC does. They would laugh at a trespass arrest, and be back at it within the hour...

And Dominique... Really?!🤦‍♂️

The dealers are coming onto your property to avoid the lights, cameras, and witnesses at the grocery store.  So give them a "memorable" experience at your property:

1.  Put a heavy metal stake at both ends of the property near where they cut-through. Run wire (not barbed; trying to get rid of them - not keep them) from a few inches above the ground, then up a few feet, repeat until at about calf/knee height.  

It won't be visible at night but landing on one's face is "memorable."  And, it's not good for business when your drugs and money go flying.  Again, "memorable..." 

2.  Then a few feet into your property from that "memorable barrier", post a Security Video In Use sign that has the words "no trespassing" at the bottom. You can get them anywhere these days.  Buy a cheap camera and get yourself a good shot of item #1 - if for no other reason than recording some hard won karma on these dudes.

3.  In New York (and in mine), you must post No Trespassing signs in a conspicuous manner - more specifically:  "Signs must be located no more than 660 feet apart along the boundary of the area your wish to protect."  No sign implies that entry is with your approval.  

4.  The act itself:  the reason the police aren't doing much/anything is that in your state, trespass is considered a violation - not a crime (fun, huh?); it all changes if there is a weapon involved (ever heard of a drug dealer not having a weapon on him/her?)
https://statelaws.findlaw.com/new-york-law/new-york-criminal-trespass-laws.html

So when you speak to police, don't complain about "trespass..."  Complain about drug deals and weapons being brought onto your property.  And, then call your local city counsel person, local television station, and even code enforcement (grocery store's "trash" is coming on your property).  

Play for keeps.  Play for resolution.  Let the dealers know that your property just isn't safe, just "surprisingly memorable."

(Been there, done this...it works).  

@Lynnette E. So in the my initial post I gave a 30 thousand point of view of what was happening at the property. Here are some grass roots

1) I posted cameras and a few flood lights which last roughly 3 weeks before the lights stopped working and cameras actually disappeared ( they were connected to an app but unfortunately it didn’t record the incident )

2) after tons of pressure on the cops they finally have installed a camera right in front of the property but the activity didn’t reduce, if anything has increased drastically.

3) I have been self reporting these incidents to the authority, instead of helping they raided the house and gave me 10 points for nuisance. If a house gets more then 12 points in one calendar year, the city has the right to shut down the house and vacate all occupants. UNREAL!!

4) I installed gates so they couldn’t get into my driveway and backyard. The locks were cut and cops didn’t do nothing about that after a police report was made.

I am starting to think that maybe there is a reason why the RPD doesn’t stop this mess.

@Patricia Steiner those are great suggestions. I have tried some ( trespassing signs, calling cops EVERYDAY,). I will get local media involved and also local council man. I didn’t think of that. I actually went right to the told and got the chief of police, commissioner, and mayor of the city. Thanks!

Originally posted by @Aqil Dharamsey :

@Lynnette E. So in the my initial post I gave a 30 thousand point of view of what was happening at the property. Here are some grass roots

1) I posted cameras and a few flood lights which last roughly 3 weeks before the lights stopped working and cameras actually disappeared ( they were connected to an app but unfortunately it didn’t record the incident )

2) after tons of pressure on the cops they finally have installed a camera right in front of the property but the activity didn’t reduce, if anything has increased drastically.

3) I have been self reporting these incidents to the authority, instead of helping they raided the house and gave me 10 points for nuisance. If a house gets more then 12 points in one calendar year, the city has the right to shut down the house and vacate all occupants. UNREAL!!

4) I installed gates so they couldn’t get into my driveway and backyard. The locks were cut and cops didn’t do nothing about that after a police report was made.

I am starting to think that maybe there is a reason why the RPD doesn’t stop this mess.

 I think you have to decide if you want to keep the property or not.  If you want to keep it, then you need to put the lights and cameras back as soon as they are gone.  Put them higher up if needed and through windows looking out.  Also consider putting in a tall metal post, like street lights with lights and camera.   You have to put them back as fast as they remove them. 

And politically get connected.  Donate to the local politicals re-election campaign, whatever, so then you have a friend to tell the cops to knock it off and move their friendly druggies elsewhere.

@Samuel S. Sounds like an excuse to not confront people on your own property. I guarantee you they wouldn't be back if they were arrested twice or just once but you will never know since your plan is to do nothing.

Sant, I agree that action needs to be taken. But no trespassing isn't the best way to approach it (IMO). Like I said previously, meeting with a section head at RPD, put up non-breakable lights around the exterior, cameras, cut landscaping low, etc. But I guess the best way to approach it is to not own in that sort of area!

@Aqil Dharamsey do you have an update for us as to what has happened in last 30 days

It is sometimes hard to find. I had similar situation with a drug house next door. Obvious drug dealing and traffic. I called and got ahold of drug task force. I say up cameras that recorded to cloud. Sent all videos and license plates of buyers. I stayed in contact every week. I even let them use a neighboring home I owened for surveillance’s of drug house. I did everything I could to make them want to help me 60-75 days later busted in door and took to jail. Crazy part !!! People back 3 days later selling again. I stayed on it and contacted with everything new going on. Another 90 days. Kicked in door again. This time problem gone. But I spent a lot of my time and effort to make this happen.

@Aqil Dharamsey

If it's one of the ones in your name move it to an LLC as step one. The city has already shown how much they will be doing about the situation and it won't be long before they start coming after you personally as the property owner. Fines and demanded improvements that will end up being destroyed. Step 2, don't get into a fighting match with the trespassers, making them trip on wires and any of those tactics are only going to make things worse (Hows the court costs when they sue you for damages). Spending your valuable time recording license plate numbers and recording what is going on, to put it into a pretty little report to be thrown in the trash by the city isn't helping either. Lastly sell it to the tenant that remained or even with a sign up front to one of the trespassers. Sell it with owner financing. Make sure you get enough down to cover all fees and the cost of foreclosing on it. When it stops getting paid on then foreclose and rinse and repeat.

The new business is getting monthly payments from an owner finance (LLC) without the risk or having to maintain the property.

Just my thoughts and good luck. 

DISCLAIMER: Just the ramblings of a dolt on the internet, for entertainment purposes only. Not legal or investment advice.

I do not intend to sound like a nag but it sounds to me like someone sold you a home on Genesee or Thurston in the 19th Ward, right? or is the property in 14621?  Was this a "turnkey"?

The bad areas in Roch are BAD.  I was heavily invested there for over 10 years.  

You have to do your research.  

If the property is located where I think it is, they are going to steal or smash any camera you put on the property.  

You might try paying them to hang out elsewhere but I doubt this will work.  

@Mike Cumbie

Thanks Mike for your advice. I am certainly not new to this game. Have been buying homes for over a decade now. I won't getting into a fighting match with these thugs as I already know the results. Cameras and lights in the last have been busted and just made them more upset. Property is already in an LLC. Sadly after owning the home for 9 years, I am forced to sell it. I am under contract now with closing coming up shortly. In any other situation, I would have never sold as the investment has been extremely profitable.

Yes ROC has bad areas and although no one tricked me into buying this property or marketed as a turn key property, I was able to stomach the risk that came along for the last 9 years. I don’t want to get into a battle with the city as they are done almost nothing to assist in the situation or Reduce the open air transactions happening daily.

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