Property Manager · Phoenix, AZ · Member since 2023 · 101 posts · 77 votes
This was an older single family home in a rough part of northern Phoenix with high vagrant traffic. The home had sat empty for a couple months while we did some sewer line replacements. It was cleaned up and updated nicely, and passed the pre-move in inspection with no hint of trouble. A few days after move in, we got a complaint from the tenants because they weren't getting any A/C blowing out of the register in the main bedroom even though the rest of the house was working fine. The tech went out and found a makeshift living space complete with mattress, a urine jug and other personal belongings set up in the attic above. The person had detached the vent so it would blow directly on them! We don't know how long they've lived up there and we never caught anyone anyway. The best we could figure is they were gaining access by climbing a nearby tree and going through a gable vent.
Needless to say, we repaired the A/C, trimmed the tree and secured the attic! We also worked out a deal to transfer the tenants to another property. We did eventually re-lease the house and never had a problem since.
Rental Property Investor · Erie, PA · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 2k+ votes
3y
That's wild. I'm imagining the squatter climbing into the vent, making all sorts of noise, the tree limbs shaking as he/she struggles to get into the vent. lol
I'm wondering if the squatter ever spent a night in the attic while the new tenants were living there. I can see one of the new tenants hearing bumping up in the attic and saying, "Honey... I think there's a raccoon in the attic!"
That's wild. I'm imagining the squatter climbing into the vent, making all sorts of noise, the tree limbs shaking as he/she struggles to get into the vent. lol
I'm wondering if the squatter ever spent a night in the attic while the new tenants were living there. I can see one of the new tenants hearing bumping up in the attic and saying, "Honey... I think there's a raccoon in the attic!"
They didn't mention hearing noises. I like to think they ditched their setup as soon as they knew someone moved in.
Are you sure it wasn't the previous tenants? I had an uncle that was so cheap he would hang out in the attic when it was cold because he didn't want to turn the heat on. He had a house on the intercoastal in Lighthouse Point FL (Ft Lauderdale area). When I was a kid I would go fishing behind his house. There aren't that many cold days in that part of FL. One day I come over and I can't find him in the house. I yell "Uncle Frank! You here?" thinking I don't want to find him dead, I'm probably 13 at the time. He yells "Hey Rob! I'm in the attic!". I go find him thinking maybe he needs help getting something in or down from the attic...nope, he's hanging out reading his paper in the attic with the single light bulb on because it was in the 40's that day.
Investor · Austin, TX · Member since 2021 · 9k+ posts · 5k+ votes
3y
I have had a real estate broker, who was secretly getting lockbox codes for properties and moving in homeless people in them use my lease listing as a homeless shelter. That was an awkward conversation to have with the owner.
This was an older single family home in a rough part of northern Phoenix with high vagrant traffic. The home had sat empty for a couple months while we did some sewer line replacements. It was cleaned up and updated nicely, and passed the pre-move in inspection with no hint of trouble. A few days after move in, we got a complaint from the tenants because they weren't getting any A/C blowing out of the register in the main bedroom even though the rest of the house was working fine. The tech went out and found a makeshift living space complete with mattress, a urine jug and other personal belongings set up in the attic above. The person had detached the vent so it would blow directly on them! We don't know how long they've lived up there and we never caught anyone anyway. The best we could figure is they were gaining access by climbing a nearby tree and going through a gable vent.
Needless to say, we repaired the A/C, trimmed the tree and secured the attic! We also worked out a deal to transfer the tenants to another property. We did eventually re-lease the house and never had a problem since.
Crazy.
We bought a flip on N 12th Ave and W Van Buren In Phoenix (in the historic district) near "The Zone" before it became so bad. It sat for a couple of weeks while we finished a flip at another location.
I came over to find a guy had moved furniture in, someone was sleeping in the bed and the lights and water had been turned on. Turns out the guy next door had the water and lights changed into a fictitious name, changed the locks and listed it on AirBNB. And was collecting rent. And the other neighbor who had their electricity turned off was running a power cord from an outlet at the house, through a window, over the fence into their place. What a circus.
I treated it as a home invasion, 8 cop cars showed up (slow day for cops I guess) and watched them haul a guy off in handcuffs.
I had to present a warranty deed to the cops, which I pulled up on my phone to show I was the owner, before they would do anything.