# Previous belongings in squats?



## Russetfur1128 (Aug 28, 2022)

So I'm in the process of adverse possession on the place I'm staying (3 months in) and my squatmate wants to replace the bed that was there with a smaller one. What are the rules on removing property from a squat?


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## Usagi (Aug 28, 2022)

Don't get caught doing it? You might want to store the original bed somewhere on the property where it can't be damaged. Just in case someone comes looking for it. Squatting might not get you in trouble but theft can. It could be someone's childhood bed and losing it might be all the excuse they need to drag you into court.

I'll give you an example. Currently on my family farm we have four houses that look abandoned. No one has lived in them for years. I try to maintain the property and mow the grass and what-not. But to a passer-by they would look like fair game. A couple of them are full of furniture and family heirlooms.

If I caught you squatting in one of them I probably wouldn't mind. I'd probably even offer to pay you cash to help me keep the place up. But if I show up looking for an old Grandfather clock or my Great Grandfather's hardwood bed and saw it missing I would become very angry and force you out. You could try to fight me legally but that's not going to stop me if you've made me that angry. I'll wait until the cops leave and night sets in. Then I'll come in and force you out on my own. Probably with several friends and family by my side.

My point is this. You don't know who you're dealing with and what kind of attachment they have to whatever you've found. To you it might be old junk. To them it might be something very sentimental. It doesn't matter if you're legally doing no wrong. That's not going to stop the owner from showing up with rifles and friends in the middle of the night. Know what I mean?

I knew people squatted in one of our houses from time to time. I didn't care for many years. But one time I checked on the place and found needles, crack pipes, cigarette butts and packs, trash and holes burned into the carpets on purpose. That was the end of me not caring. That's when I started to lock up things very tight and doing regular patrols at night. The same folks stole a bunch of my childhood toys and other things I'd stored in that house over the years. They forced me to act.


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## zenchop (Sep 1, 2022)

Usagi said:


> Don't get caught doing it? You might want to store the original bed somewhere on the property where it can't be damaged. Just in case someone comes looking for it. Squatting might not get you in trouble but theft can. It could be someone's childhood bed and losing it might be all the excuse they need to drag you into court.
> 
> I'll give you an example. Currently on my family farm we have four houses that look abandoned. No one has lived in them for years. I try to maintain the property and mow the grass and what-not. But to a passer-by they would look like fair game. A couple of them are full of furniture and family heirlooms.
> 
> ...



Truth


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## Gin (Sep 3, 2022)

Yeah don't ever steal. Make a storage room, garage, she'd etc your storage for their stuff you don't want to use or look at. And never trash the place


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