[GrayFoal2]

We figured out where all that acrid smoke in the middle of the night was coming from.

Mini shantytowns are popping up all over our neighborhood. Shantytowns are taking over the bicycle routes, too, many of which are no longer safe to ride, especially going under overpasses. I don't ride anymore.

You don't see the neighborhood shantytowns unless you walk down the alleys, which are filled with piles and piles and piles of trash. The shacks are constructed in backyards of houses that look totally normal from the front but are dilapidated in the back, missing paint and windows and doors.

Numerous shacks constructed of irrigated sheet metal and tarps dot the yards (house lots around here are ~1/4 acre with large backyards). The shacks use water and electricity from the house through the garden hose and extension cords. Some of the shacks even have A/C units. They cook (food and whatever else) in little campfires in the dirt outside their shacks. They look like third world slums - because they are. Right across the effing street from me.

I discovered the neighborhood shantytowns when I was walking the dogs. It explains the increase in crime, why cars are being stolen off the street, why our chain link fence keeps getting cut open, and why we can't keep anything in our yard without it being stolen.

We're no longer getting chickens. I don't know how we would keep them safe other than sleeping (armed) in the yard next to the coop.

That particular meth house across from us has piles of clothes and shoes in the alley behind it, making me wonder if it's being used for human trafficking, too.

 

[PaulGray]

We figured out where all that acrid smoke in the middle of the night was coming from.

Mini shantytowns are popping up all over our neighborhood. Shantytowns are taking over the bicycle routes, too, many of which are no longer safe to ride, especially going under overpasses. I don't ride anymore.

That particular meth house across from us has piles of clothes and shoes in the alley behind it, making me wonder if it's being used for human trafficking, too.

Let me guess. The Police aren't interested?

 

[browningv308]

Set it on fire in the middle of the night, burn them out like **** roaches Or next time you see smoke call it in as a fire, tell 911 there is smoke coming from an unusual place possibly a house or shed, FD and police will show up.

 

[GrayFoal2]

Let me guess. The Police aren't interested?

I don't know. Our police have been responsive when we've called them for various things in the past, I think they're pretty good if not a little understaffed like a lot of police departments. The town generally considers this a "homeless" problem and looks the other way. We're about an hour or so from the border so there's a lot going on. Crime has skyrocketed.

The idea that there might be men doing horrific things to women and girls being trafficked right across the street has me so angry. I can't even think about it, it's keeping me up. Horrors like that always seem so abstract and then when the reality is right across the street it's almost too much to bear.

 

[mtnhiker]

Sorry to hear that. Do you think you'll end up moving to some place safer? I know now is not a good time to move but if you have demon seeing tweakers next door, it might be worth looking around. If it were me I wouldnt dime on them, the streets have a way of finding out.

 

[GrayFoal2]

I've never liked it here, I'm saving to move to a coast, probably Texas or Florida. My roommate owns the house we live in and she wants out, too, and would probably come with me but she would need to invest some money into fixing up this house first in order to sell it (roof needs replacing, etc.) and I don't think she has the money right now.

I can't imagine either of us staying here much longer. It's just become too dangerous. I grew up in a nice upper-middle-class beach city in California and this is all pretty shocking to me.

 

[M.O.A.]

So sorry about the accidental fire that is about to happen there. Far better than you moving away.

Maybe there is yet another way to clean up and evict the drug addicts? Seriously, the cops, the mayor, the health department, building code enforcement...NONE of those people can help?
I find that hard to believe.

I would be personally presenting digital photos at the town council's next meeting and providing updated reports, petitions, recall petitions, whatever it takes at every subsequent meeting.

THAT is what I would start with.
A few well-timed, daisy chained M80's at 4 am will roust the druggies and scare the begeesus out of them if all else fails. And then...a fire sale as a last resort. Just be out of town when the accident happens and their meth lab catches fire due to their carelessness and drugged out minds.

Not advocating anything illegal, and I'm not a lawyer.

 

[M.O.A.]

I meant to add: CAREFULLY check to make sure nobody is tapping power off of you. Look for semi-buried cables in your yard or strung through the trees.

You could cut off your main breaker at night for just a moment, and have family spot for you, especially houses surrounding your back yard.

Also, I am reminded of the perfectly legal electric fence (cattle / deer grade) that I bought years ago to keep one of our dogs from climbing the fence (he literally scaled it, step by step, got to the top and lept off).

Anyway, I would be willing to bet that yard theft decreases dramatically. Additionally, if it were me, I'd stay up late at night with either a BB gun or a paintball gun (the latter being far more fun). A few WHAPS from a blue paintball marks the perps and keeps them from stealing lawnmowers.

 

[GrayFoal2]

Those are good tips, thank you. We're night owls but we've also been taking turns sleeping in the backyard. One of the thefts happened mid day in the hottest part of the day when it was over 100F. We were all at home at the other end of the house (where it's cooler). We do frequent perimeter checks now and installed motion-sensor lights and cameras.

I read online that thieves will scout a place and leave a little tag to let others know to steal from it: a strip of fabric, a zip tie, something along those lines, so we've been watching for things like that but haven't found any yet.

When we moved in here 7 or 8 years ago we kept finding a single spot of light blue spray paint at various places around the property. We covered it with our own paint and it would reappear somewhere else. It took four or five times covering it up before it stopped reappearing. Prior to our moving in the house had been vacant for a while. There weren't any shantytowns back then but I think the local teenagers liked to smoke in the shed in our backyard, based on the number of cigarette and cigarillo butts we found around there. Maybe that blue spot was a sign to them that it was okay to smoke there without getting caught.

 

[SkunkWerX]

Sorry to hear this, sounds like a 3rd world country.

She can sell the house in "as is" condition. It doesn't sound like any money invested in improvements are going to be realized in a higher price if the area is getting that bad?
Just me, but I'd cut my losses and get out. How much less will the place be worth in 6 months? a year?

 

[HomeDefense]

If it is a meth factory, the house may have to be gutted the next time it's sold. Several years ago, one of my friends bought a house across the street when the owner got busted for producing meth. The house was so contaminated with toxic residue that the city required him to rip out all the drywall and flooring and replace it.

This was in a nice neighborhood in Fort Myers, Florida.

 

[usmc0341]

Code Enforcement is going to be your best friend here. I have a buddy that literally used them to clean up his entire neighborhood in a downtown slum here locally. To be fair, he was a bit more.. predatory.. He would find code violations, call code enforcement, get the properties condemned, then buy them cheaply off the owner(s), bulldoze, and hold the lots until recently when he started putting modulars up on them with his other construction company.

He would also buy vacant lots at tax auction and sell them to the adjoining neighbors for a down payment of his purchase price and 12 easy monthly payments. He simply told them that he was planning a strip club next to them if they were not interested in buying. They got to double their yards and he made a nice profit off of his hustle.

Also note that he LIVED in that neighborhood and raised his kids there as well so he was invested in making it a safer, nicer place.

 

[Prepper_Pete]

Not sure where you are but in my state (Indiana) to finally get rid of a meth head squatter next to our shop we went this route... 1: Code Enforcement 2:Health Dept 3: Police (routinely with "wellness checks") and finally 4: State Police. Only they can rule out or enforce ANY meth related issues. Once meth or chemicals used for production is verified through them, will they send in Haz-mat and strip the area. In my case, the needles, spoons and other goodies found was not enough to deem a bio site but was enough for the person to leave. We did however have to clear the area of their crap and throw it in the street and wait a couple weeks for the trash picker to remove...
It was a lengthy (3 months, easily) process to get rid of one individual and I could only imagine the headache to get rid of a larger gathering, esp if the area is private or bank held with no way of getting a hold of any owners (like in my case)
Just to note... Each department gave a different story and were very reluctant to get a bad mark with the community with the whole homeless issue. Even though I have family working in one of the above listed departments, there was very little they could do either because of lax laws or proper procedure. The Health Dept. was the one to inform us that ISP would be the best bet, yeah, calling a state cop for a city matter but it worked. Best of luck!

 

[TheBean]

I would get out as soon as you can. You can find a job anywhere. I suggest your roommate sell as-is and be done with it. Think through if the cost cost to do the work is worth the net gain, hassle, time, and headaches of hiring contractors and them getting materials and workers. The situation there will likely get worse and property values will drop. That drop may overcome a gain by waiting months to fixing things. Also by that time there may be more people selling and multiple sellers in an area won’t increase prices.

Innocent people being hurt (like trafficking) makes me angrier than anything. Have you seen suspicious vehicles? Are the clothes and shoes mostly women/girls? Are they different sizes and in more quantities than what may live there? Have you seen different people there? I would report your suspicions and the why to the state police and/or FBI.

Meanwhile you could go also the code and council route. Understand that it takes time and if you don’t want to be there long term anyway then I wouldn’t let it slow you down too much getting out of there. It would help the neighbors and may make things a little better in the short term so it’s not a total loss.

best of luck!

 

[PurpleKitty]

I get tons of offers to sell my house "as is" you will take a hit on the value but it sounds like it is already plummeting. If you drive you can definitely find a small town in Texas not far from the coast for cheap. Somewhere like Galveston or Corpus will cost you a lot more; also you have to factor in hurricane risk and the insurance you will have to pay for that.

I think your operative phrase was "not far from the border" that is just begging for trouble.

 

[MyPrepperLife]

I'm sorry to hear all this, @GrayFoal.

In our small, rural town, similar things are happening. Not in my particular neighborhood (yet), but in other parts of town. Friends who live several miles from me are putting up with drug dealing that sometimes happens almost in their front yard, and these same friends often cannot get a good night's sleep because of noisy vehicles that race up and down their road at night. Also, an elderly couple recently built a lovely retirement home here in town but are now putting it on the market because druggies and thieves have moved into the house across the road.

It's like pulling teeth to get law-enforcement officials to do anything about these low-lifes. Once in awhile one of them does get arrested, but they are usually turned loose within a few days because the jails are overcrowded.

 

[Done4theday]

You're not the owner -- my arse would be out of there today. part of being a Survivalist is knowing when to run.

 

[Done4theday]

I get tons of offers to sell my house "as is" you will take a hit on the value but it sounds like it is already plummeting. If you drive you can definitely find a small town in Texas not far from the coast for cheap. Somewhere like Galveston or Corpus will cost you a lot more; also you have to factor in hurricane risk and the insurance you will have to pay for that.

I think your operative phrase was "not far from the border" that is just begging for trouble.

read above the O P is not the owner , I'd be packing now..

 

[JDH]

I meant to add: CAREFULLY check to make sure nobody is tapping power off of you. Look for semi-buried cables in your yard or strung through the trees.

You could cut off your main breaker at night for just a moment, and have family spot for you, especially houses surrounding your back yard.

Or you take a spare dryer cord and an extension cord repair outlet to make an adapter cord. When you find their extension cord plugged in at your house plug your new adapter into the dryer outlet then plug their cord into it and wait for the sparks to fly.

 

[AlphaSierraCharlie]

Are there kids there? Call protective services. The more official contact the various government agencies have, the less they're able to deny the problem.


Take pictures, have them printed out, and take them to city council meetings.

Start a Facebook group. Post these pictures to your city's/county's official Facebook page and Instagram account. Leverage social media. I'm a non-user, but that would change in an instant if I had to deal with that.

Start a neighborhood watch. Let the cops know you'll be doing armed patrols. Maybe even tell them the specific times, so they'll show up to stop you. Be at these encampments so that's where the cops have to show up.

Basically, find ways to make your problem their problem, in a way they can't justify taking action against you.