Baby's First Squat™️

[Missus]

Hi there! I'm, in so many words, being forced into the position of squatting with my husband by the end of March. We're still looking for somewhere to rent, a room, but it seems nobody wants to rent to a couple. And we don't want to be locked into a year lease in an apartment (if we could even afford one lmao). Because of that, we're shifting our focus on a place we're going to squat on.

This past weekend we changed the locks so to speak on the place in question, so as to be prepared for if and when we move in. We scoped out the house and the interior.

Seems to be some electricity, and no running water at all. The house is in a well-to-do area but has been all but abandoned for what I think must be almost 8 years.

The woman who owns the house supposedly changed address in 2015. I'm trying to find out if she's alive or dead even (she's supposedly 86 and knocking on death's door if she hasn't already just due to her age). Searching her name with "obituaries" and the county name didn't seem to bring anything else up, anyone have advice on that?

Also as far as I've been able to tell, someone is still paying property taxes on the house as it has no foreclosure listed on the county website.

However it seems well and truly abandoned, as the lower part of the home/basement has flood and mold damage (quite a lot, we won't be going down there except to test the beams to make sure we don't fall thru the upper floor if we sleep there), there are parts of the ceiling missing or sagging slightly on the main floor, and it has otherwise been cleaned of possessions except for clothing that was left behind in several different closets, a carbon monoxide detector, and the shell of a smoke detector. There is also a handwritten note from, when I assume this woman's grown kids likely moved her out, basically stating to leave the clothes so the woman could go through them and decide what to keep (which clearly never happened).

SO I guess I just wanted to document this absurdity somewhere because we can't tell friends and my husband and I are not interested in sharing with family for MANY reasons. Also you all seem really friendly, it's been good seeing people who are trying to help each other out.

I'm glad I stumbled upon this site. ❤️

Also, wanted to know if it might be worth it to get electricity/water all running properly. I'm not sure if it'll be an issue, or if the pipes are even in working order to have water running. We want to (hopefully) be here only until end of July at the latest. After that we wanna move to Colorado. I've convinced my husband to get our mail delivered here, change our address on our IDs and otherwise just try to act as if we belong (all excellent advice I've seen from you lovely folks. :] ). Also saw advice/a tactic to whipping up a fake lease agreement in case someone/cops come knocking to get them to back off and give us time to get out.

I'm sorry too for such a long post, just happy to get this all off my chest. It's like reality is fucking shitting itself and I've never squatted before in my life, so naturally this is a big deal to me and my husband.

Anyway, I'd like to continue detailing this journey as much as I can, here's to hoping it's hassel free and lets us comfortably (as possible while squatting of course) save money, fix some credit scores and get ready to fuck off out of state.

Thoughts, concerns, crtiticisms etc all wonderful. Discussion is really cool.

Thanks for having me here.

 

[Skrat143]

Hey if you guys need a third person to pitch in and throw some cash etc let me know. Currently looking to leave my current situation! But best of luck to you guys

 

[Missus]

Thanks for the offer, but we're comfortable with just the two of us right now!! I hope you're able to find your way, best of luck to you. ❤️❤️❤️

@Skrat143

 

[Skrat143]

Thank you very much! I hope you guys stay well also!

 

[transcendentalhobo]

Good luck! Thanks for taking us into confidence.

Getting utilities turned on is at least a little different everywhere in my limited experience in California and Arizona. Even in the same metro area, what works in Oakland won't necessarily work in Berkeley, or what worked in Oakland in 2013 might alert an absentee landlord in 2015 (hack, hack, cough, cough).

 

[Missus]

Seems about right! I'll see if I can find out what procedures are around here to see if it's feasible. Maybe I can find out what it entails if I search up the local company here-

And thanks for the luck, we certainly need it. 😄

 

[Missus]

Small update:

I was apparently able to start up service at the home with my deets online. The service is set to start on the 1st of April, and nobody has to come out to do it, it can be done remotely. I have to pay 'em a deposit because my credit is garbage, but it's a small price to pay if we get electricity running in the house. That'll make everything so much more comfortable.

I'm going to look into water next...

 

[transcendentalhobo]

Right on! In some situations, having one or more utility in your name is proof of residence, so can entitle you to be there to a certain degree.

 

[Missus]

That's another reason I was thinking, in case we get bothered a little, it'll make it harder to get us kicked out right away. Appreciate the reconfirmation of what I've read previously!! ❤️

 

[Missus]

Another day, another thing to do! Good morning StP! ❤️

Found out through you lovely folks that apparently animal wood pellets are fantastic for waste collection/removal so that is something to discuss with my husband when he gets home!

In the meantime, time to eat something then head out to the library to get a lease agreement whipped up and also check on the mailbox to the place to see what's going on with it.

I never noticed, but apparently my husband saw a mailbox that was kind of sort of at the edge of the propery line, and so not sure if it's for the house. We saw a standard mailbox in the garage with the house numbers on it, so naturally we're a little confused.

Will update later with my findings!

 

[Missus]

Few more updates for the day:

* Did a lot more research on the home and who owns it, apparently the woman and her husband co-own the property.​

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* Taxes are absolutely still being paid on the home, under the owner's name. Still not sure if it's her or a family member paying under her name!​

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* Mailbox has no house number on it despite being on the property. Popped it open to find an old bird's nest was built into it. Looks cozy for the birds, but no use to us! Will have to reinstall the mailbox in the garage or get a new one. Haven't decided how we should go about it yet.​

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* Printed up a lease agreement for the "rental", just need my husband to sign some lines. Might get a friend of mine to "sign" for the woman so there is a signature clearly different than mine or my husband's writing. I don't feel comfortable enough trying to forge it (though I'm likely being paranoid, nobody is probably going to look that closely. More for my own peace of mind). Unless of course my husband thinks he can forge something. I'll have to ask him...​

All-in-all a pretty productive day! Thanks again to everyone for all the advice, I'm genuinely really happy to have you all here helping out. <3

 

[Missus]

Afternoon StP! Been quiet, sorry about that. There was nothing to update about.

Today my husband and I are borrowing the vacuum from the place we're staying right now and bringing it to the house to vacuum the rooms we'll be staying in. We're also going to check the beams and supports in the basement to make sure they're not going to collapse under us if they see increased activity.

I thought I saw somewhere how to check, aside from visual signs, if wood is starting to rot by piercing it with a knife. Depending on how easy it is to get it in could determine that. I'm hoping there's no rot, or at least very little. I'll have to reverify how to do that.

Other than that, there's a racoon carcass in the garage that we need to also dispose of, so we'll do that today too.

I'll swing by again tonight to let you all know how it's going.

Edit: I forgot to mention, that my husband found out the neighbors next door have a huge wooden sign in their yard that says "For Sale" and it otherwise doesn't look like anyone lives there most of the time. I was under the impression that we had neighbors, but apparently not. And the house to the right, it's at the corner of the street, is actually the house we're renting the room out of now. So effectively, because everyone has HUGE yards, we don't have anyone very close by. Even across the street is the entrance to a library, the next residence up the road.

So that unfortunately makes me feel more nervous. We'll do our best to just act natural.

 

[Missus]

Update for the day!

• Got the racoon out and disposed of. I'll see if maybe we can clean that spot up later.
• Tried vacuuming and got only a quarter of the way through the first room before the vacuum straight up broke. It's not ours so I can't say I care all that much, but we'll need to figure out another way.
• Stuffed newspaper into the fridge and freezer to help absorb some of the stale odors that are trapped. Nothing rotten, just old. Turned them both off and left the doors open to help air circulate. I'll clean them with soap and water next time we go in. They both seem to be working, so that could be a huge help.
• Checked the supports under where we'll be sleeping, seems in good order. Also found the breaker box in the basement, so a plus.

All-in-all a productive day. We'll have to keep packing and moving out things into the storage over the next two weeks, so we're more or less ready to move when April rolls in.

 

[MxEx]

good luck seems like it may work well. IF you are pulling off the it looks like someone legitamitly lives there it is always nice to do some outside/yard work improvement. sometimes you can figure out a way to turn the water on yourself and even by pass some meters, but one thing is for sure you definitely want to know how to turn it off.

 

[Missus]

good luck seems like it may work well. IF you are pulling off the it looks like someone legitamitly lives there it is always nice to do some outside/yard work improvement. sometimes you can figure out a way to turn the water on yourself and even by pass some meters, but one thing is for sure you definitely want to know how to turn it off.

Thank you for the kind words. 😭 My husband is very cautious and since it will be a short-term stay, he wants as little evidence we're there as possible, while I want to exist normally as much as possible. We'll find a balance and have been talking a lot about it!!

 

[MxEx]

yea that's not to bad of an idea. Just saying you gotta rep it either way...stealthy or out in the open

 

[japanarchist]

It sounds like y’all did a good job getting the run down on it and planning it out🤙. I don’t have much to add about that place other than recommend that if its cold there then consider buying a portable propane heater like a Mr Buddy heater.

I also recommend looking for at least 2 other squats to have as back ups incase anything goes wrong with this one. Best of luck to ya!

 

[Missus]

It sounds like y’all did a good job getting the run down on it and planning it out🤙. I don’t have much to add about that place other than recommend that if its cold there then consider buying a portable propane heater like a Mr Buddy heater.

I also recommend looking for at least 2 other squats to have as back ups incase anything goes wrong with this one. Best of luck to ya!

Thank you for the advice! We have another backup plan in case we get found out, but hopefully it'll just be smooth sailing! I appreciate the kind words as well, it's been a lot of work and will continue to be a lot of hard work. 😤

 

[Hobeau]

Thank you for the advice! We have another backup plan in case we get found out, but hopefully it'll just be smooth sailing! I appreciate the kind words as well, it's been a lot of work and will continue to be a lot of hard work. 😤

If you are close to some woods, start a fire in a metal bucket or supersize food can.
Once it is going well, throw in some big chunks of wood.
Once the chunks of wood get going, cover the container 95% of the way and let it smoulder for 10 minutes.
Then cover the container conpletely and do not take off the lid until the whole thing is cold to the touch.
You now have odor-absorbent charcoal.
Throw it in the fridge and close it for a couple of days.

 

[transcendentalhobo]

It sounds like y’all did a good job getting the run down on it and planning it out🤙. I don’t have much to add about that place other than recommend that if its cold there then consider buying a portable propane heater like a Mr Buddy heater.

I also recommend looking for at least 2 other squats to have as back ups incase anything goes wrong with this one. Best of luck to ya!

At least two other squats? I'm used to scoping more than one abando at a time, but have you able to have three or more cracked at once?!