Housing News
Detroit homeowner forced to live with squatter in her house
After claiming ownership of what she says was an abandoned home, an odd story is spun by a woman who calls herself a politician, and a homeowner is forced to live alongside her in the same house.
Write-in Presidential candidate refuses to leave home
Heidi Peterson bought a historic home in the Boston-Edison District of Detroit for $23,000, and after spending a year away from the property, she came home with her baby to find a woman living in the home, who neighbors say had been there for months, reports MyFoxDetroit.
Peterson said, “She thinks that this is a program in Detroit to take people’s homes and fix them up and then she gets to keep them. I don’t know what her capabilities are. We’re afraid of her mindset of entitlement.”
Fox reports that Peterson leased the house to tenants in 2010, but when the property was found unfit to live in, she was forced to evict them all. One woman stayed behind who says she has filed papers with the city, claiming the property was abandoned. Peterson claims the woman changed the locks, replaced her appliances, reworked the plumbing, then put a lien on the house claiming if she did repairs to the home it became hers. Now, she will not leave.
“I thought if the house is not safe, how can I come here with my child? There’s an issue with that. But should I lose my house to a squatter because I don’t have rights to my property or should I fight to get it back,” said Peterson who says at this time she cannot afford an attorney, as she spent all of her money on the house.
The alleged squatter’s side of the story
The alleged squatter’s name is documented all over the house as Missionary-Tracey Elaine Blair, a write-in candidate for President who in recent years says she ran for the Senate. She claims she has a lease, but when talking to MyFoxDetroit, her dates did not quite match up to reality, claiming she has had a lease since October 2012.
“I have a construction lien for the repairs that I put into the house,” she said, referring to a “program” that she advocates for as part of her affordable housing work. “Someone had broke into the house on July the 4th and they stripped the radiators and I made a report,” she said.
“In February 2011, we had to vacate because the boiler was damaged,” she added. “I took all my books and my writings, but my [furniture was] still left in [there].”
The squatter cannot be removed
Under local law, the homeowner cannot remove a squatter by force, and police may not remove her, as they both claim rights to the property – the only resolution is a civil case, which Peterson says she is attempting.
Until then, she is forced to share the house with the alleged squatter, living only one room away with her daughter.
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The average home age is higher than ever
(REALUOSO.COM) – In a survey from the Department of Housing and Urban Development American Housing Survey (AHS), the median age of homes in the United States was 35 years old. In Texas, homes are a bit younger with the median age between 19 – 29 years. The northeast has the oldest homes, with the median age between 50 – 61 years. In 1985, the median age of a home was only 23 years.
With more houses around 40 years old, the National Association of Realtors asserts that homeowners will have to undertake remodeling and renovation projects before selling unless the home is sold as-is, in which case the buyer will be responsible to update their new residence. Even homeowners who aren’t selling will need to consider remodeling for structural and aesthetic reasons.
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Click here to continue reading this story…
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Are Realtors the real loser in the fight between Zillow Group and Move, Inc.?
The last year has been one of dramatic and rapid change in the real estate tech sector, but Realtors are vulnerable, and we’re worried.
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(REALUOSO.COM) – Corporate warfare demands headlines in every industry, but in the real estate tech sector, a storm has been brewing for years, which in the last year has come to a head. Zillow Group and Move, Inc. (which is owned by News Corp. and operates ListHub, Realtor.com, TopProducer, and other brands) have been competing for a decade now, and the race has appeared to be an aggressive yet polite boxing match. Last year, the gloves came off, and now, they’ve drawn swords and appear to want blood.
Note: We’ll let you decide which company plays which role in the image above.
So how then, does any of this make Realtors the victims of this sword fight? Let’s get everyone up to speed, and then we’ll discuss.
1. Zillow poaches top talent, Move/NAR sues
It all started last year when the gloves came off – Move’s Chief Strategy Officer (who was also Realtor.com’s President), Errol Samuelson jumped ship and joined Zillow on the same day he phoned in his resignation without notice. He left under questionable circumstances, which has led to a lengthy legal battle (wherein Move and NAR have sued Zillow and Samuelson over allegations of breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, and misappropriation of trade secrets), with the most recent motion being for contempt, which a judge granted to Move/NAR after the mysterious “Samuelson Memo” surfaced.
Salt was added to the wound when Move awarded Samuelson’s job to Move veteran, Curt Beardsley, who days after Samuelson left, also defected to Zillow. This too led to a lawsuit, with allegations including breach of contract, violation of corporations code, illegal dumping of stocks, and Move has sought restitution. These charges are extremely serious, but demanded slightly less attention than the ongoing lawsuit against Samuelson.
2. Two major media brands emerge
Last fall, the News Corp. acquisition of Move, Inc. was given the green light by the feds, and this month, Zillow finalized their acquisition of Trulia.
…Click here to continue reading this story…
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Jolenta Averill
October 10, 2012 at 2:08 pm
This story sounds very suspicious. That is all I’m going to say about it but I think the facts may not check out.
John Rickmon
October 10, 2012 at 2:22 pm
Dear AG, Squatters have rights, too. Sincerely, Randy Quaid
AgentGenius
October 10, 2012 at 3:13 pm
Jolenta Averill we agree. Sometimes the facts DO check out and the squatter really is there legitimately, but we’re not too sure about this one.
John Rickmon oh no you DIDEN’T! lol
Jolenta Averill
October 10, 2012 at 3:15 pm
I don’t doubt the squatter has no business there but the whole tone of the article sounds fishy to me. I guess the term “entitled” is pretty loaded these days…
AgentGenius
October 10, 2012 at 4:43 pm
It is. The problem with cases like these (and the reason cops can’t get involved) is that until there is a court date, it is all he said / she said. The woman may have legitimately taken adverse possession and filed the proper papers with the city, so who knows? Her story sounds kind if wishy washy, though.
And what caught us is that BOTH of these women allegedly been involved in running for public office?
BlWaller
October 16, 2012 at 11:09 am
The squatter looks like a mental case to me. I think the owner of the home should do an on-line investigation on the squatter to see if she has ever been treated for a mental problem and ask the authorities to take her in for 36-hour supervision to see if she is a threat to herself or others. Then, while she is out, move her stuff into storage, change the locks and get a big dog. As to what the lady spent on the home, she would have paid more than that as rent somewhere else. Also, her “mechanics lien” with the city should not be allowed because it was done without permission or authority from the owner. What I don’t understand is why there is not some form of Legal Aid to help the owner or a good-hearted attorney who will take the case “Pro-bono”. There are laws about “adverse possession” and I don’t think the squatter has been there long enough to qualify. What she really is, is a TRESSPASSER and should be removed. If Detroit allows this lady “squatter” to stay, they are encouraging thugs all over to just take over homes. If the City has a program, there should be specific rules to be followed. Since the owner bought the home, she should have title insurance and the owner of record should have been easy to find thru the tax records or courthouse records. The squatter was gambling that she would be able to stay long enough to qualify for “adverse possession” and she lost. Now, she just needs to get out. If the City government won’t protect homeowners who bought homes, they need to be fired or voted out of office.