posted on March 7, 2001 11:51:07 PM new
A friend and neighbor of ours was just evicted from our apt complex because she was unable to pay her rent. She is a single mom who is unemployed and has 2 little girls.
Today I found out from my daughter that this person's belongings were put out (thrown) into the parking lot where they were looted/shreaded by the other tenants and their children. My daughter attempted to stop them from taking her things (salvaging some of them) while the complex employees just watched and did nothing to stop it.
To make a long story short, she was able to borrow enough money to rent a truck to get her stuff and she pulled up just in time to see her belongings shreaded and scattered all over the parking lot. My heart went out to her older (10 year old) daughter who was crying and hugging my daughter who was also in tears. My daughter was able to help her get some of her belongings back from some of the neighbors.
It's amazing how little compassion some people have for others..
posted on March 8, 2001 12:38:59 AM new
It seems that some people will engage in a mob mentality when presented with such a situation. Nobody wants to be homeless, especially with children. It's hell to have your life fall apart and then have other people pour salt in your wounds.
posted on March 8, 2001 01:47:01 AM new
That is too bad.
If you are interested in my opinion they should have use "reasonable" care for her belongings and may be held liable for the outcome.
Also in case you aren't aware there are laws governing landlords and renters rights & responsibilities. You or your friend might want to check into it to see what can be done about that.
A lot of the states have the laws and regulations on the internet.
In my opinion, no one deserves to be treated like.
posted on March 8, 2001 10:58:54 AM newYou or your friend might want to check into it to see what can be done about that.
That is what I told her. I used to work for this complex, under different management and we always held a person's personal belongings in storage for a certain amount of time before letting anyone touch them or throwing them out. I thought it was the law but I could be wrong.
posted on March 8, 2001 11:13:10 AM new
In most eviction cases, the tenant has a warning of when the eviction will take place and has plenty of time to get out, along with the belongings. Depends on the state. Reasonable care must be shown to the belongings, and stored properly. Again, depends on the state. IMHO this wouldnt have happened in the first place if this person would have taken the time or found the resources to remove said items and turned the property back over to the owner as requested/demanded by the courts.
posted on March 8, 2001 11:36:50 AM new
Wow... people can be so greedy. It sounds like the "it must be OK if everyone is doing it" mentality really took over there, and I agree that the stuff should have been put into storage for a reasonable amount of time.
But, as Hepburn said above, eviction normally takes place only after notice has been given, often repeatedly. That limits my sympathy for the woman, but not for her children. What a terrible situation for them.
posted on March 8, 2001 06:38:38 PM new
I would ask her if notice was given. If she just refused to acknowledge it and thought it was a bluff that is too bad. But if they put her things out without her knowing then she may be able to find a free legal service for the poor who will help her seek some damages.
Sometimes people think if they ignore it the problem will go away.
posted on March 8, 2001 07:21:11 PM new
outoftheblue, that is a sad sad sad story. The poor family. I just moved from a ghetto apartment complex last summer. There, the apartment manager and her family would loot the evicted's apartment first, then throw the rest of the stuff out in the dumpster.
This happened to my next door neighbor. He lived in an apartment with another man. The other man received the eviction notice, but did not tell my friend. When he came home, what a shock he had to find all his stuff gone. Those of us who had witnessed the looting told him what happened and who took his stuff.
The apartment manager came over screaming like a maniac telling us to mind our own business. She then made threats to us, saying her gangster son was going to 'kick our a--'. We had already seen what her son had done to other tenants cars, so we moved out. If you are thinking of moving to Fat City, stay away from El Matador Apartments.
The poor guy spent the rest of the night fishing what was left of his home from the dumpster in the pouring rain. It was pathetic.
posted on March 8, 2001 07:39:17 PM new
I'm sick to my stomach. I have a 10 year old; it's such a sensitive age. My heart goes out to that poor child.
I had a rude awakening last year as I drove through a poor part of town one morning. A family had been evicted from a two-family home and their entire belongings had been thrown on the tree lawn. They had obviously been gone through as it was quite a messy sight. It was like viewing a death scene or something for me. The broken high chair, the few scattered toys, curtains, all these parts and pieces of someone's life, carelessly thrown and trampled upon. I burst out crying and drove home and called the mayor's office. What they did to this family was totally legal. I was told that it happens all the time.
I guess you could rationalize it by saying that they should have known and should have acted more responsibly in the first place, but what a shame that kids have to go through this. No one picks their parents.
posted on March 9, 2001 10:08:28 AM new
My wife recently worked with a student who was raised by a family that the mother and the father both have degrees but have never held a paying job in their life. They live by bad checks idenity theft and fraud. They move from flea bag motel to flea bag motel when they can not find a house or apartment to rent with little down. Then they never pay any rent once in. Same with cars - once they get it they make no payments until it breaks down or is repoed. They have even painted a car to make it harder to find.
She is trying to get her 16 year old brother away from them so he can have a life.
They live in constant fear that the next knock on the door will be someone to kill them for cheating him. She has seen her Dad run and hide in the closet when the Mormans can to the door preaching because he thought someone had found him. It is a terrible way for a child to live.
posted on March 10, 2001 12:24:42 PM new
Of course I agree that anyone who would steal from an evicted person's belongings is a vulture (I can think of other, more colorful terms!), but I don't think the apartment complex bears much (if any) responsibility. If they filed an eviction and it was granted by the court, at least in my state (IL.), it is the sheriff, not the complex management, who comes and removes the belongings (is it like this everywhere?). After the eviction is granted and the belongings are removed, the complex gets possession of the unit, and the tenent is on her own. By this time, the tenant has had numerous warnings and court dates, so she must have known what was going to happen. The complex is under no obligation to store the belongings, and indeed, why would they? The case is now over, and they are free to re-rent the unit and go on with life. This is a legal matter, if everything was done according to law, this is the final outcome. Is it a pretty solution? Of course not. Is it fair? I don't know. Is it fair for a tenant to live in a unit and pay no rent? I am not a landlord, I am a tenant, but I can see the sense of this. We all have to take responsibility for our actions and their consequences. JMHO
