What in the world?

[Bay_Kat]

Deputy's wife filing for adverse possession of Riverview home

RIVERVIEW --
The wife of a Manatee County Sheriff's deputy is being charged with moving her family into a house without the owner's permission.

The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office says Jeanella Pollock, 51, was living with her husband and teenage children in a vacant house on Potomac Circle in Riverview. The sheriff's office says Pollock broke into the house, moved her family in and changed the locks. She faces burglary and grand theft charges.

She filed an adverse possession form with the Hillsborough Property Appraiser's Office. Florida law allows people to ask a judge to declare abandoned property theirs if they fix it up and occupy it for seven years while paying the taxes.

"But understand, you're still trespassing," said Will Shepherd, general council for the Hillsborough County Property's Appraiser's Office, "You're still trespassing and if you kick in the front door of a house, you're breaking and entering. All that adverse possession does is say if no one comes after you for trespassing or breaking and entering and in seven years, you might have an opportunity to acquire this property."

Deputy's wife filing for adverse possession of Riverview home | Bay News 9

I think I read another article about something like this before. That's a nice looking house for being abandoned.

 

[MarieB]

That happened in TX too

Many "nice looking" houses have been "abandoned"

 

[mamatutu]

It happened in Waldorf, too. I bet it is happening everywhere more than we know. There are so many foreclosed/vacant houses.

http://forums.somd.com/life-southern-maryland/274380-suspects-claim-sovereign-citizenship.html

 

[Bay_Kat]

That happened in TX too

Many "nice looking" houses have been "abandoned"

There are two on my block, shame no one will move into them and fix them up.

Honestly though, from what I've heard, they both need to be bulldozed.

 

[MarieB]

There are two on my block, shame no one will move into them and fix them up.

There are so many that banks don't even list for many reasons

And there is so much bull#### red tape on short sales and foreclosures that buyers walk away after months and months of waiting

 

[mamatutu]

There are so many that banks don't even list for many reasons

And there is so much bull#### red tape on short sales and foreclosures that buyers walk away after months and months of waiting

That is so true. My daughter's friend found a short sale, and it took so long to go through, she almost gave up. But, it finally went through after 8 or 9 months. The house had been sitting for 3 years in Elkridge. I don't understand why the banks drag their feet, and want all these houses weighing them down. I know the banks suffer a loss, but isn't it better than nothing at all?

 

[Bay_Kat]

There are so many that banks don't even list for many reasons

And there is so much bull#### red tape on short sales and foreclosures that buyers walk away after months and months of waiting

I never got the short sale thing. We looked at our house and less than 30 days later, we were moving in. We did look at a short sale and were told it would be several months and a lot of hassle just to get the ball rolling. What a stupid name.

 

[protectmd]

I would hope that if a house is vacant for quite sometime, the neighbors of that house would sue the bank for dragging down their property values.

Vacant houses are the destroyers of neighborhoods. The news has done several articles especially on vacant houses that are located in Prince Georges County, the county that has the highest foreclosure rate in the state of Maryland. The county is trying to develop methods to take control over vacant properties and revitalize them, because the banks allow them to become "crackhouses" where squatters take them over, party in them, and allow them to be destroyed. Police that find these houses to be problem houses are often plagued with the fact that even if they charge the "squatters" with burglary, the "victim" never shows up to court often resulting in the release of the squatters who simply move back in and start the process over again. These are just the squatters and crackheads. I asked some property investors and they told me that thieves who steal copper frequent these vacants and cut open the walls to remove the copper pipe and steal appliances.

I think something should be done. I think that the government should step in and take action against banks, owners and other entities who allow vacant properties and houses to become epicenters of crime. No one who's a property owner should suffer when it comes to their home values because a house goes vacant on their street. By the way the courts run I guess its okay for the homeowner to get evicted and be punished monetarily for not paying his mortgage, but when it comes to holding the banks and property owners of vacant dilapidated properties who is holding them accountable?

 

[MarieB]

That is so true. My daughter's friend found a short sale, and it took so long to go through, she almost gave up. But, it finally went through after 8 or 9 months. The house had been sitting for 3 years in Elkridge. I don't understand why the banks drag their feet, and want all these houses weighing them down. I know the banks suffer a loss, but isn't it better than nothing at all?

If the banks weren't getting something out of it, they wouldn't drag their feet

 

[blazinlow89]

When we were looking for homes we wanted to look at several short sales. Our realtor said he had no problems showing us the homes, but advised that a short sale could take a long time. We wanted to close in 45 days to coincide with our apartment lease expiring. He said one reason that a short sale can take so long is that the bank is usually waiting for a certain number of bids before proceeding to accept an offer. Sounds correct as a friend at work had put in a bid for a short sale about 4 months ago and his realtor has heard nothing from the bank.

 

[RPMDAD]

If the banks weren't getting something out of it, they wouldn't drag their feet

Disagree Marie, i think the banks are getting exactly nothing out of it. Had a neighbor, one of the nicest houses in the development, both were retired, wife was stricken with cancer, and included outrageous medical bills. Wife passed away, his house went into foreclosure and he moved. That was 3 years ago, saw the house on the market multiple times. Actually in the meantime we refinanced our house, and it was appraised almost 30 K above our neighbors lowest house selling price and they never got a nibble on it. House had afinished basement with wet bar an additional bedroom and full bathroom, multiple decks and great landscaping. Our house has none of that. That house is still sitting vacant, haven't figured out how that is helping the bank out at all.
He had long since moved out, bank hasn't done one thing there in 3 years, no grass cutting, no maintenance. I guess i don't see their logic.

 

[blazinlow89]

Why do anything, they can claim the house as a loss or operating expense to the government. I honestly think it benefits them more being on the books rather than sold.

 

[czygvtwkr]

When we were looking for homes we wanted to look at several short sales. Our realtor said he had no problems showing us the homes, but advised that a short sale could take a long time. We wanted to close in 45 days to coincide with our apartment lease expiring. He said one reason that a short sale can take so long is that the bank is usually waiting for a certain number of bids before proceeding to accept an offer. Sounds correct as a friend at work had put in a bid for a short sale about 4 months ago and his realtor has heard nothing from the bank.

Hmm I would get some friends together and have them all lowball the #### out of the banks.

I really think the banks believe they will be bailed out by the government over these properties. I have a couple in my neighborhood, one has been empty since 2007.

 

[blazinlow89]

Hmm I would get some friends together and have them all lowball the #### out of the banks.

I really think the banks believe they will be bailed out by the government over these properties. I have a couple in my neighborhood, one has been empty since 2007.

Why not? They got bailed out for giving out loans to people who could not afford them. Might as well go all the way and take those properties off the banks hands as well.