Visitor, Police, Fire Department and Arson. You just can't make this up!

The crew, who I shall refer to as A and R, showed up this morning to continue the debris removal. The two entered the house and made a quick round of the home. As they stood in the family room, someone came in the house. We have visitors again. In a short conversation, the intruder stated "The owner told me I could come in and take what I wanted." A told him to leave. A then asked R to keep an eye on the guy while he checked out the house. When A entered the back bedroom he saw smoke. There was a small fire in the closet of the bedroom. A ran out the front, shouting at R to put out the fire and ran after the intruder. A followed but the intruder slipped away. They called the police. Then a few minutes later R sees the intruder a street over and goes after him. The intruder ran up a driveway and jumped a fence into a backyard.

The police were now in the neighborhood. Unfortunately, R was asked to put his hands behind his back, but after a short conversation, the police realized he was not the intruder. Being a fire, the fire department came, along with the Fire Inspector who was there to investigate the arson. Yes, ARSON! We came to find out that earlier in the day, a grill from the back yard had been pulled into the driveway and there was a large fire started using paper and gasoline. I have not confirmed, but a neighbor is said to have put it out.

My contractor had called me and in turn I sent my husband over to the house. As he was on his way, the police called him. They had our number from a previous call for intruders in the home. Once he arrived, they were not allowed to enter the home. The fire inspector needed to finish up. Following the all clear, in went the police. Took pictures, gather evidence, took a couple items that A & R had identified as being handled by the intruder.

This evening we made a sweep of the house, buttoned things up, and will be able to tell if anyone has come and gone. The police have placed the home on watch for the next two weeks. We will most likely do a driveby later tonight. Bottom line, any lights in the house and we call the cops.

Outstanding Warrant

In removing the debris my contractor came across a Bright Yellow Door Tag. "Please contact the Minnehaha County Sheriff - even if the person named no longer lives here". Guess I'll be calling the Sheriff's Office on Monday. But in the meantime, I was curious. I went online to review outstanding warrants. What did I find?

The son of our previous owner has an outstanding warrant for possession of marijuana. Great! Wonder what else we'll find in the house.

Debris Removal Continues

Saturday 10.5.13 resulted in two(2) loads to the dump. The first load was in excess of 6,000 pounds of debris. Having the front yard cleared, the garage completely empty and the majority of the first floor cleared of debris makes me feel better about my decision to buy and rehab. But with a limited budget, we shall see what we can do...

We Have Unwanted Visitors

On Friday 10.4.2013 I made a driveby at lunch. While the house is vacated, there remains debris we have to get to and downed trees. All looked buttoned up so back to work I went. But after work was another story. Luckily my former boss and friend had driven by and came to find folks rifling through the yard and house. Yes inside the house. He shoo'd them away. He and I walked through and found the house strewn with even more stuff - clearly folks had been going through things throwing them (one would ask how I know, but it was now more of mess than originally). As we were in the back and teenager and what I assume to be his dad walked in and made their way to the basement. I shouted after them, "Can I help you?". The teenager came back up the stairs while signaling his dad to come up. The dad came up the steps and I asked again, "Can I help you? What are you doing?" He responded that "the guy" had told him he could come in and take what he wanted. I responded, "What guy?" and he said, "The owner". I informed him, "I am the owner and I did not give him permission. You need to leave now." They went on to ask if they could have the dryer, inform me that he is a contractor and he can give me a bid, and after telling them I have a contractor, they offered their help. I responded, "Thanks. But we have a contractor and his team is already hired." They left. SIGH.

Shortly thereafter, Tom, my contractor arrived with the trailer and bobcat. Bobcat you ask? Yes. To clean the front and back yard of debris requires a bobcat. That much stuff and that many fallen branches. It is quite an undertaking. After another quick walkthrough and finalizing clean up and security plans we went on our way. But not before my husband made a call to the police. After giving them a brief history and noting the folks just entering the home, we requested a few extra drive-bys tonight until we could get the home fully secured. They abliged and advised they would call if anyone found at the home. No calls.

A drive-by around 9:00am Saturday, 10.5.13 found Tom and his crew at work. Tom in the front with the bobcat clearing away debris and his crew inside with shovels, facemasks and protective gear. Yes shovels, masks and protective gear. While we had not found excrement, rodents or animals, they were not taking any changes.

Clean up has started, security to follow as soon as we had enough room. The plan is to board broken windows, put doorknobs and locks on exterior doors and chain the garage closed.

Photos coming soon.

We took possession. Now The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.

The Good

1. Our contractor is confirmed. He will have a dumpster delivered tomorrow and begin clean up right away. And, it's not the worst he's seen. (oh boy what have I done?)
2. There are 3 bedrooms as opposed to the assumed 2 originally.
3. There is a basement and 1/2 story up.
4. They weren't smokers.

The Bad

Abandoned / Stolen Vehicle: The grey Ford Econoline van previously in the drive and now in the street remains, full of junk. I called the police department and reported it as abandoned. A phone call with a neighbor we found the police did stop by, were knocking at the door and had indicated that the plates on the van didn't match the vehicle. Hmmm...stolen plates or stolen vehicle. Great! But at least it will be towed and I don't have to deal with it.

The Ugly

Where should I start? I think a tidy list shall suffice for tonight.

1. The House is a Hoarder's Heaven: Ever watch Hoarder's? Well this was definitely a hoarder (minus pests, but more on that later). Every room is filled with clothes, boxes of papers, a large box of empty altoid containers, clothes and more clothes, books and more.

2. The Garage is a Hoarder's Second Home: the garage has old tvs, old trophies, a couple dressers, more junk, more ladders than any one home should need and broken windows.

3. The Backyard Forest: The backyard is overrun with weeds and fallen trees (from what I can tell they were beautiful old trees). There is a dog kennel for garbage collection. (Isn't that what everyone does?)

4. The Basement: while not a victim to the hoarder, the basement has it's downfalls. It is very damp and looks to have mold. Only after we get in with good lighting will be be able to tell. Looks to be a pipe or other that caused the damage.

5. The Family Room is where? The family room is an add-on to the home. All sheetrock, insulation and flooring have been removed. Tonight's rain should let us see what the issue is (Oh my!)

6. The Front Room: Did someone really live here? It appears so...as the front room has a couple of couches (There is a bit of change on the arm. Oh yey! I got some of my investment back). This room has the least junk. I would guess this is where they actually lived.

While I'm sure there are bugs, pests and other around. There was not visible rodents or other. But that perhaps is thanks to what appears to be a house cat. Note cat food placed on plates in the garage and backyard and in the home.

There is so much more, but I just need time to process. Hopefully seeing things cleaned up will bring me rejuvenation.

Possession...almost...

Since serving the Summons and Complaint last week, things have been very quiet. Our previous owner's son had promised to call on Saturday 09.28.13, but no call. Sunday we spent the day training our Search & Rescue dog, so didn't get to do our usual drive-by. But I did have a voicemail from our foreclosure neighbor. He noted that no one had been to the house since Saturday. On Saturday a pickup was there and someone was frantically loading things from the front yard (which is ok with me as I don't want to have to pay to haul things away). He also noted that he saw the previous owner and her daughter at a soccer game Saturday and while he had not spoken to them, word from the neighbors was she and her son had both found other places to live. Soo.....we believe the home has been abandoned.

Monday brought the work week and my usual lunch time drive by. Gray van parked in front of the house (note it hasn't moved) and all the rubbish remained in the front yard, driveway and garage, with the garage door open.

Another drive by Monday evening around 7:30 pm found the home in the same condition as earlier in the day. However, with the sun going down, we could see a light in the front room. We decided to go home and planned to call our attorney on Tuesday (today), 10.01.13.

I made a call to our attorney. I informed him we believed the home to be abandoned. He did a quick conference call to the previous owner's son, but no answer. Straight to voicemail on the first ring. Same as I received with all my calls since week. He left a message advising:

1. The home is abandoned.
2. We are taking possession.
3. The locks will be changed.
4. If there is any property they wish to keep, they need to contact our attorney.
5. IF there was any damage criminal charges would be pursued.



OK! It is really happening. We are going to take possession of our foreclosure investment. We've had over 7 months to plan, but I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed!


We decided one more drive by to insure the home truly is abandoned was in order. Safety first.

But with an event at our son's school, we were not able to do another check until 8:30 pm. The gray van was still parked in front of the house. It as not moved in nearly a week. Note to self: call non-emergency police number and report the abandoned vehicle. If it were on our property (in driveway) I could call the zoning dept and they would have an agency remove, but as it is in the street, I need to call the police department. It should be towed within 24 hours of us reporting the vehicle abandoned.

We noted the same light was on as the previous night. All the shades remained pulled shut and everything else was dark. We shall take possession tomorrow! It was dark and daylight would provide us a better vantage and we could truly see all the splendor (or mess more likely).

But don't fear. I won't be doing the initial check alone. I have a friend who will go to the home as our witness and help insure the home is abandoned. I'll make arrangements for another friend to come replace the locks and board up a couple broken windows in the garage and secure any other items necessary.

Our plan is in motion: clear the home and insure abandoned. Secure the home. Call debris removal. Stay tuned for updates and PHOTOS!!!!!!!