Realities of Investing - Case Study - What Works, What Doesn't

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Never met so many friendly cops on a police call. Kudos to the Phoenix Police Dept.

The squatters never had a chance.

This one is unique for me in my 25 years of investing in real estate.

I went to my vacant property today to check on the house and an unknown Chevy Tahoe was parked in the driveway. I checked inside the car to see if anyone was sleeping or any dead bodies. None found. There was laundry drying on my tree limb. Weird.

The screen door was unlocked. That was odd thought I. and the keys didn’t fit the lock to the door. Hmm, brought the wrong keys. Went to the back door and it was wide open. Odd. The washer and dryer are missing. I don’t remember removing those.

Each bedroom had a bed and some clothes and artwork. There were tooth brushes and shave cream in each bathroom. At least they are sanitary, I thought. Hmmm, that’s not supposed to be there though. The whole house was supposed to be empty. Went to the kitchen and Keurig coffee was brewing. Groceries in the refrigerator and pantry. In the living room there was furniture and the TV was on with art work on the walls. Nice, I thought, but not my stuff.The master bedroom door was closed.

Yikes! I quickly exited and called the police and told them “someone is inside my house, still currently inside” (that part is KEY). The police come right away if the culprit is still inside. They don’t come if you tell them it’s empty. They just have you file a report for burglary.

As the police arrived, all 8 squad cars plus the K9 unit, and after a prolonged Police wait on the front porch, back porch and windows (waiting for the offending party to give himself up, with no responses) the place was searched and declared empty.

Here’s how it went down apparently: A fake Lease agreement for the period of Feb 6 2019 to Feb 5 2019, “signed” by “William Gilliuam” to “John Cantu” for $2500 deposit and $1200 a month was on the counter. Normally Leases don’t end the day before they are to start but this one did.

The address “William Gilliuam” gives as his contact address doesn’t exist. No “William Gilliuam” exists in Maricopa county property records. The “Lease” was for my property and I don’t know a “William Gilliuam” or “John Cantu”. During the investigation a car pulled into the driveway. Ahah, the culprits. Nope, turns out that “John Cantu” has rented the house out to them on AirBnB for $74 a night. Who the heck ARE all these people?

As 8 cops, the K9 unit, the AirBnBer’s and the neighbors were all standing around out front, “John Cantu” called the people he rented the house to on AirBnB and wanted to make sure everything went well so he could get paid. It went to voice mail. The AirBnB guy gave the phone to one of the cops who called “John Cantu” back and introduced himself. The cop told “John Cantu” that there was a big investigation about fraud and burglary and this and that and the other thing. “John” apologized for not being there but he has an Outstanding Warrant and well. . .you know he said… “if I show up that might be a problem”.

The cop assured him he understood. ;-)

So, the AirBnBer’s stuck around to identify “John Cantu” from the police mug shots and he is now being sought Again, by the P.D. One cop stuck around while the other 7 cops went to break up a brawl here and there, the K9 unit went to go sniff things, the neighbors went to dinner and I locked up and went home. All told that went from 2:30pm to 7:30pm

The officers were professional, friendly and always polite though determined to sort things out.

I’ve got to believe this happens in California, Ohio, Indiana, Florida, New York, Illinois, Maryland and everywhere else. I just haven’t had it happen to me before.

It’s simply a reminder to know who is in your properties and to call the police when needed.

What works: I called the police instead of confronting the squatter

What works: No police got hurt protecting my property.

What didn't work: The squatter. The fraud was pretty obvious and by addressing it in a cool handed way I got possession back instead of having to evict. That is a big deal, my friend!