Residents in the Oak Park neighborhood in Kansas City, Missouri, say they're frustrated with the city for failing to address squatting issues in vacant homes.
@@robertking3090 doesn't mean they have to create and live in trash. I watch people in my city literally pile up trash around them. They collect. They create it. The feel the need to have it. My city has washing stations. My city has free needles. My city has anything they want free. A huge portion of the homeless in my city choose to be that way. They choose drugs over being clean and home with their families. But again, i say , just cause you are homeless doesn't mean you need to live like a dirtball. I hope they all get clean sooner then later. But along with the drugs many around the biggest drug neighborhood in Philly have other mental health issues. Hoarding tendencies one of them for sure.
Amen to that, being poor doesn't mean we have to be lazy and ghetto. I still live in a clean, tidy home. I clean up after my dog, and I am a tidy lady. I don't get people.
Yes, it is awful, and these properties were to be passed down to the adult children. What’s really awful is that these squatters were the grandchildren of the elderly clients that we cared for and they stole their prescriptions drugs and abused them. This is a terrible thing that is happening here in America. Now these college/bishops have entered the churches, operating them under the state, keeping these churches in poverty. This is Satans plan to destroy the churches and it is happening. They put these criminals back on the streets during COVID, and domestic violence has run rampant. Lord help us all! 💁🏾🇺🇸🙏
Usually. Especially if the owners aren't around and aren't paying the property taxes and preventing the place from being condemned. "Smart" squatters never really squat, but just pay the taxes and start taking care of the property. From the moment they pay that first tax bill, and mow the lawn a few times, they are on their way to claiming that house as their own.
@@gpk1982 Yes, you are correct. Just learned that they got to close it down because there was no power. That seems like a good way to get many squatters out. How is it that these squatters can get power turnedon in the first place is beyond me.
@@theresabollman8061 yes on that mr.clark would be a great neighbor too even after that piece of trash yelled a threat at him he still had compassion for people that are homeless
We had squatters at one of our rental houses and couldn't get them out. My wife and I put up live feed cameras and as soon as they left the house we took the front end loader and dump truck and about 10 friends over there. We pulled all their stuff out of the house, crushed everything, loaded it into the dump truck and changed the locks, and dumped all their trash at the mother of the couples house. They tried to take us to court and the judge forced them to pay for the cost of moving everything and rental fees for the time they squatted in the house. Edit: after having another squatter incident with another house we bought I had to get the police involved to remove them and the on duty supervisor was there along with the chief of police and they both told me that I could have walked into the house with a gun shot once into the floor then shot the squatters and it would have been considered a self defense case because we were actually living in the house, had gone on vacation and came back to them living in our house. Gonna have to remember that for the next time it happens
This is the reason why you can’t just give homeless people a house to solve homelessness. The problems that cause it are so much more complex than just lack of money or property. These squatters would have remained undetected if they had acted like good neighbors, kept up the yard and generally taken care of the living space, but they were not capable. They still had the same problems.
They'll ruin an apartment or whatever free housing is given to them. This is all drug use behavior. You see the same behavior in homeless people living on the street and in encampments. A bunch of trash and random things all over. I live in Seattle and people just put up tents anywhere they want. You have to earn a living the honest way in order to live indoors in a descent area. You don't just take up residence anywhere, start fires, cause explosions with propane tanks and kill the natural areas.
That's the kind of person that could quietly move into one of those vacant houses, mow the lawn and keep it decent and the neighbors wouldn't say a word. People don't realize they could actually do that. All those trashed houses all over the nation where the owners just ignore the property, if people moved in, took care of it and paid the taxes, after awhile if the owners don't come back, they can claim it as squatters. It varies, but in my state it's 7 years.
@@greyeaglem if nothing else it would be cheaper rent. I knew a man that lived as a squatter for years. The children of the one that owned the house came to check on it. The step dad passed away and they had just found out. The step dad had put their mom in a home and wouldn't let them visit. Anyways. It was all just left. The man I knew had started squatting. He fixed it up a little each paycheck figuring it was like paying rent. The children came and saw it. They sold him the house for 200.
Most of these people are too lazy to work a job, much less upkeep something they're not paid for. The more likely you'd be to maintain a place you're squatting in, the less likely you'd ever be in that situation.
Mr. Clark has done sooooo much for that neighborhood! I watched a documentary which featured him and what his efforts were for the Oak Park neighborhood and I saw how many abandoned homes were there. Mr. Clark along with another gentleman were pushing to have the condemned homes completely eliminated or to have the city take care of them appropriately. It really seemed like one hell of a battle either way they tried. I grew up in KC and now I live in Tennessee; but I remember when I left in 2008 how much worse the neighborhood started to look. It brings down property values; and if the city won't get involved who will? I think after writing the Mayor they should try writing the Senator (not that he will do anything either) Something has go to happen, fast.
The unfortunate woman that lives next door had to tolerate the disgusting mess. Wouldn't even be able to sit in her own yard- let alone have company next door. Ugh! Hope it's resolved all over KC!
Thanks to the news team for bringing a light to the neighborhood to kick the squatters out. The neighborhood association members are trying to preserve their neighborhood and I am so happy for them. Good work news team!
Their is a definite problem in America, drugs have made these people unfunction able. We have to the same problem on the he west coast.Beautiful city's turning into trashed mess.Lord help us.
How about fines for not keeping the property up to code? Heck, I had a branch in my yard and they threatened me with a fine. They could also condemned it.
@@peteskipeteski4464 I live in St. Louis Missouri the same like the city only in force building codes on peoples that wants to do right. This is a big problem in black neighborhoods peoples drive-through and they talk about the people who live there but never about the people who owned the property for some reason the city can’t never get a hold of. Even app the city has acquired the property because of a lien or taxes not being paid it doesn’t change things at all.
How come the city takes forever to respond to this kind of situations but anyone else gets a complaint about what color the paint is or blinds on the window uncut grass am I missing something here
@@that.ll_do_pig You are wong about that. This is no longer occuring just in HOA communities. Certain cities are fining all residents for ridiculous property infractions (including having mismatch blinds, barbecuing on their own property), etc. It's a cash making scheme, and often the cities hire private law firms to come up with new fines. The law firm gets a huge percentage of the fine. And if try to sue them, they have teams of lawyers to fight you. The only way to stop it, is to get rid of the Mayor and City Council, just like the same with HOA's (get rid of the HOA board and also fire the Property Management Company, like some HOA residents are doing now).
@@jansa940 They're getting you used to being told what to do on your own property. Both HOAs and local government have been following and promoting UN Agenda 21/30 guidelines for some time. America sleeps on.
This man is a hero!!! And we need more people like him in the world 🌍!!! Amen!!! Don't let people take advantage of you EVER!!! I myself have been homeless until I got off drugs and got clean and sober for 8yrs now!! And I also have housing myself too! And when I did stay in abandoned homes I NEVER left a mess i knew I wasn't supposed to be there duh!! I understand being homeless for years but you can get help with addiction problems and get housing, but you gotta want it!! It's not gonna get delivered into your lap!!! You should Always respect where you live and not live like pigs!!!! Being homeless sucks but you CAN get help it's out there!
@@morganjanelle4282 Your reply made my day. Saw this early in the am and laughed till I cried. So did my husband. What a golden reply. Thank you! (I corrected for a spelling error lol)
Not if a door or window is open & no sign of forced entry. I'm English & it's a very tricky area in law, as often it will fall to the side of squatters, then a whole court process.
Nope. As long as they didn't break in (kick in the door, knock out a window), they're golden. Squatters rights go wayyy back. Unfortunately, not too many states have done anything to adjust, or remove, the legislature.
@@amrogers4 See and that is the issue right there, they always have to break a window, kick a door down or pick a lock (which is still forced entry btw). Squatters rights pretty much only exist within a few places... Mostly the same places we have so many homeless issues (in democrat run big cities)
Im sure happy they did this for the lady next door she said she had been there 56 years she should not have to put up with BS. Like this after complying for 4 years and nothing done good people do winn some times congrats mam
It is a disgrace that these taxpayers have to nag their City officials to get anything done. If so many homes are abandoned, why isn't the government making them available by declaring them health emergencies and tax delinquents?
I loved in a couple of those before buying a home. Absolute scumbags. One place was so bad that I actually ended up severing a thumb on a window that I was begging them to fix for months.
My thing is if you're going to do this bullshit at least keep the house clean and be quiet and stay out of the way! But I'm glad they are actually finally talking about it and doing something
Squatter protections are pretty much one of the most insane and evil set of laws ever invented. You can literally have a rental property unoccupied for a few months while having work done on it, then find out you have squatters and that you cannot use the property until a long legal process is followed. Because the squatters often show no income and operate on cash only, there is no way to recover your losses, such as lost rent, damages to your property, etc. We live in very very soft times where predators are considered victims, and tax payers and job creators are considered to be predators.
@@Elizabeth-uj8vn Dude there are a ton of LLC companies here in Washington that are owned by Chinses that are buying up land and houses left and right.
The law say that a person has to be a citizen to own property here in america but what happens is they buy these place then leave to go back to their own country
If I was a squatter I would do my best not to piss off the neighbors. This is disgusting. Make these LLC's illegal or impose fines for not taking care of the properties. Seize the properties.
I have lived in the KC metro area more than half of my life; 8 years in Missouri and the rest in Kansas. This is appalling and an absolute embarrassment for the City of Kansas City, Missouri. My questions are; why do these LLCs own these properties to begin with and why are they not occupied? The City Government needs to address what laws or ordinances they can create to deal specifically with out of town property owners. I agree with comments in the video as well as here that this would not happen in other parts of the metro area. It makes me sad and angry that this can happen and continues to be an issue. I hope 'the right people' are made aware of this and something can be done. Thank goodness for the brave neighbors who stood up and reported it to the media to get some much needed attention. And thank the local media for your part in making a difference! Best wishes to all.
It takes one house at a time. If the out of town owner cannot be located after two weeks, it is boarded up. Two weeks after that, it goes up for auction with the stipulation that it needs to be fixed in one year, if it is not, then the property defaults back to the city to be auctioned again with the same rules.
This is what happens when you got broken down houses bought for taxes by hedge funds who buy houses take out loans against them and don't pay it back and let it go back to cities for back taxes
These squatter laws need to changed across the board. It's insane that someone can go into a home that isn't theirs. It should be trespassing and they should be charged and thrown out immediately. Shouldn't matter who owns the home and if the police can't get in touch with the owners. If they can't prove they own it, they are in these homes illegally.
Need to have Mayor step up then. Say NO MORE SQUATTERS. Have Mayor, put in Effect of saying if LLC Company / Owner of said Address of Offending House Doesn't FIx the Issue within say a Month time. Police and Code Enforcement Can and Will come in and Hire people to clean up/ Board up Offending Property. Then Charge/Send a Bill the Cost of Cleanup/board up to the LLC Company / Owners of said Address, Regardless if its a LLC company or Not.
Those homes are gorgeous! Local Government, hello, you have a problem. Also, this looks like an AMAZING opportunity to buy, fix up these properties~I am obsessed with how beautiful these houses are. Investors need to be local or reachable.
Wow.... The city actually did a pretty good job cleaning it all up. Now if the news could just keep doing more pieces like this. No one cares what the Kardashians are doing or which celebrity is getting divorced.... This is the stuff they need to focus their energy on.
Pro tip.. If you own a home that is going to sit empty, make sure to cut all water ? utilities etc. so if squatters show up the city can kick them because it is considered unhabitable, of course city ordinances can change from town to city etc,.
This comes down to one thing, the parents did not raise their children right. Parents aren't making their kids get jobs at 16 so that they can learn to work and make their own money and safe up to BUY a house. All the people want "to live free" and don't care if it's wrong. You have to teach your children how to be responsible adults. Hoping they'll "learn by watching you" does not always work. A lot of people are lazy and have to be forced to get a job and hold a job.
And this is one of many issues with LLCs from other states buying large portions or land. More often than now LLCs that own properties are based out of places like Chicago, LA, NYC, etc. They only hold the land as an investment and don't care.
I can't believe this. How on Earth is it so easy for people to just take over another person's home? If someone did this in my country, police would be at the doorstep in 5 minutes and escort the intruder to prison. Private property is private property.
So happy for that lady!! Would love to see the neighborhood build as much as that lady in the video deserves. Unfortunately she can't get back all those years of decreased home value due to the neighborhood.
Such a beautiful older neighborhood, it's shocking something like this continues to go on. Seems like everybody has rights these days. There's absolutely no reason that nobody helped these people clear this mess out of their neighborhood.
😔 That gentleman's right it's part of a bigger problem. "When that bridge gets too cold." There are just too many homeless. I was homeless once but I was lucky I was able to keep my car until I was able to find a job in getting new home. Didn't mean I didn't go hungry & didn't mean men try to offer me food to get sex out of it, it sucked.
Yes, because look what happens...and then who's held responsible? Not the homeless. That's why most of them are homeless. They don't want responsibility... atleast from what I've seen and heard.
If the city doesn't take care of a problem like that, the other owners should have the right to withhold their property tax payments until the problem is taken care of.
This guy has a gym membership somewhere 02:35. He's not homeless. Looks to be healthy and in pretty good shape! Glad Action News got the city to take action. Those homeowners deserve better.
@@Jc34759 Independence is completely run by Democrats. You don't know that because you can't put party affiliation on the city ballot. Democrat values and policies lead to the meth issues and other moral decay.
I didn't expect you - but I feel really sad watching these young people sent back to the streets... I really didn't expect it. We need to stop putting idiots in our local city and town councils that make housing regulations so ridiculous. We need to take power back from the legal system - lawyers/liars/leeches. They have a hand in absolutely everything... From the air you breathe, the floor you walk on - they're involved in the lease you sign, you can't make a move without a lawyer anymore... Whether you're a tenant or landlord. They've driven up the cost of healthcare, education, Auto insurance, The only industry where you can go to college for 7 years, put out a shingle and start charging people $200 on up per hour for advice... They sell access to Justice - and they're in demand whether the economy is good or bad they always win They don't teach a kid to read, find a cure for cancer, defend their country with their lives, do brain surgery... They're useless leeches...the original snake oil salesman carpetbaggers that went South and began following circuit judges to represent illiterate people in court they do nothing but produce pieces of paper
@@brianmoeller6839 - that has absolutely nothing to do with people being on drugs and choosing to be a squatter in a home that does not belong to them!
25 NEIGHBORS FROM THAT HOOD, $25 APIECE TO RENT A ONE-DAY RENTAL OF A LARGE TRASH DUMPSTER, FILL IT UP, AWAY THE TRUCK GOES, CITATION, FINES IF IT EVER HAPPENS AGAIN!! MAKE IT HAPPEN, THE RESIDENT IS DYSFUNCTIONAL!!