Goodbye... and welcome!

[Sapphire Silk]

And I'm betting some may use it for dealing too - cos of the laws about confiscating the property on/in which the transaction takes place. lawman can't really confiscate the bank's house etc.

Oh yes they can! It's called a nuisance abatement. It's rarely used as local governments are reluctant to take property that they then have to manage or sell off. But it is occasionally used for extreme situations where the owner has done nothing to resolve the situation.

occasionally the drug use occurs without the party is what is meant.

Yes, this is what I meant.

[Geek King]

I think they're pulling the copper because copper has gone up market-wise so much in the last couple of years or so. Our pennies would be pulled and melted down if it wasn't for the fact it's illegal (would also piss me off because I'm looking for certain pennies, Bossman managed to get a brand new slug in one of our rolls and I'm so friggin' jealous!).

Pennies have so little copper in them now that it wouldn't be worth the trouble to melt them and seperate it. Kind of the point why they changed the mix many moons ago. Mostly you'd get zinc out, actually.

[Raveni]

Frypan to fire. Didn't it occur to this so-and-so to verify if there's an HOA for the new area...never mind, I answered my own question.

Most of the neighborhoods around here have HOAs, but if the guy was moving just to get away from ME, he probably should have asked...

Someone is breaking into foreclosed houses? How would they know unless maybe it's an inside job....just sayin'. And what are they taking? Belongings or actual house fixtures?

You'd be surprised what are public records these days. You can walk into almost any property appraiser's office these days and get lists of homes that are owned by the banks. In Florida, you can even do it online. Those are pretty much guaranteed to be vacant. Even if you're not a savvy stalker researcher, if you live or hang out in a neighborhood, you can pretty easily tell which homes have been permanently vacated, even before the bank comes and tapes their "this home is vacant, please don't break in" note on the front door.

What we see most of the time are squatters. Not homeless people all bundled up in the rooms to get away from the elements, but actual families that move their furniture in, set up utilities in their own name, and just live there until the bank realizes someone is there and evicts them. I guess they figure they got screwed by some bank in the past and deserve free rent.

[RetailWorkhorse]

Pennies have so little copper in them now that it wouldn't be worth the trouble to melt them and separate it.

Yeah, I know. Pennies minted before the cut-off date are still in circulation. I went ahead and collected them for a little while, but got bored with it. Much more fun to look for Wheat Pennies and mis-cast pennies. Kinda like a treat when I find one.

You'd be surprised what are public records these days. You can walk into almost any property appraiser's office these days and get lists of homes that are owned by the banks. In Florida, you can even do it online.

Really, now? *Rubs hand together* Thank you, Raveni, I now know how to find a house in just the location I want. I will remember this.

Or, really, I'll forget it until it's mentioned again.

[Merriweather]

Yeah, I know. Pennies minted before the cut-off date are still in circulation. I went ahead and collected them for a little while, but got bored with it. Much more fun to look for Wheat Pennies and mis-cast pennies. Kinda like a treat when I find one.

Are the wheat pennies actually worth anything (more than maybe a nickel or dime, I mean?). I have, somewhere in a cupboard, an old large jar filled with wheat pennies - they were my Dad's, I've no idea what to do with them.

On another line, I also have one of those old penny books, that has little spaces for a penny of each year & mint for all years (not sure how far back it goes, probably at least the 20's or 30's). It's all filled in (even the steel or lead or whatever penny it was they used one or two years in WWII) up to the point my Dad gave it to me as a gift, late 60's, I think. Would love to know what it's worth, but won't part with it.

[telecom_goddess]

On another line, I also have one of those old penny books, that has little spaces for a penny of each year & mint for all years (not sure how far back it goes, probably at least the 20's or 30's). It's all filled in (even the steel or lead or whatever penny it was they used one or two years in WWII) up to the point my Dad gave it to me as a gift, late 60's, I think. Would love to know what it's worth, but won't part with it.

That would be cool JUST for it's antique value.

[suburbandecay]

What we see most of the time are squatters. Not homeless people all bundled up in the rooms to get away from the elements, but actual families that move their furniture in, set up utilities in their own name, and just live there until the bank realizes someone is there and evicts them. I guess they figure they got screwed by some bank in the past and deserve free rent.

Well, if they are actually taking care of the property, they can eventually file and receive the title free and clear due to squatters rights laws (only applicable in certain states).

[Sapphire Silk]

What we see most of the time are squatters. Not homeless people all bundled up in the rooms to get away from the elements, but actual families that move their furniture in, set up utilities in their own name, and just live there until the bank realizes someone is there and evicts them. I guess they figure they got screwed by some bank in the past and deserve free rent.

You can actually get a free house this way, depending on where you live. It's called adverse possession, and it's legal in most states. By living openly in the house for a period of time (anywhere from 1 to 7 years) you can actually get a free and clear title to the property. However, if the owner finds out and tells you to move, you must do so.

Are the wheat pennies actually worth anything (more than maybe a nickel or dime, I mean?).

On another line, I also have one of those old penny books, that has little spaces for a penny of each year & mint for all years (not sure how far back it goes, probably at least the 20's or 30's). It's all filled in (even the steel or lead or whatever penny it was they used one or two years in WWII) up to the point my Dad gave it to me as a gift, late 60's, I think. Would love to know what it's worth, but won't part with it.

The WWII pennies are steel; those have some value because they've become increasingly uncommon. The wheat pennies have more copper per volume, and thus more "value" that way. Your collection probably has some value, certainly more than face value, but it's hard to say just what that is. It depends on how rare specific coins are, what mint they were struck at, and what condition they are in. There are price guides you can get fairly inexpensively that will give you an idea, though that might cost more than the collection itself.

You might see if there is a local numismatics club in your area, and attend a meeting. Folks there might give you an informed opinion.

I wouldn't get rid of them, either. Brother and I have our father's and grandfather's stamp collections, and we're not about to part with them (I'll probably buy them from Brother after Mom passes) for the same reason.

I've got an update on a post I made earlier on this thread: The cops came by and looked at the open door of my former idiot neighbor's house . . . and left it open.

Someone came by over the weekend and boarded up the sliding door. Finally.

[Racket_Man]

You'd be surprised what are public records these days. You can walk into almost any property appraiser's office these days and get lists of homes that are owned by the banks. In Florida, you can even do it online. Those are pretty much guaranteed to be vacant.

Being that I am a pizza delivery driver --- about every 3 or 4 months I use an on-line national listing website to find all of the foreclosed houses in my delivery area (via my ZIP code) and get a general idea of where they are. Nice to know if I have to deliver to some vacant house.

I am nor sure of the accuracy of the site but any little bit of information helps.

[VenomX]

They are stripping the copper pipes to take in to recycle for the cash. Then they buy the booze or drugs. It happens here to houses with noone in them. They will also strip the siding off the house if it is not plastic.

[Aethian]

Stripping of wires and pipes is even happening in lived in homes. One of my coworkers in another zip saved the homeowners some headache when they called 911 on suspicious activity on a house where the owners were currently on vacation.

[Raveni]

Nice to know if I have to deliver to some vacant house.

What kind of things do you do differently if you know you are being dispatched to a vacant home?

UPDATE: OY mailed in his first payment today for his new home in his new HOA. On the memo line of his check was supposed to be his property address, since his monthly coupons haven't arrived yet.

Instead, it said "Douchebag".

Still worked, since we immediately knew who it was for.!

[Seshat]

On another line, I also have one of those old penny books, that has little spaces for a penny of each year & mint for all years (not sure how far back it goes, probably at least the 20's or 30's). It's all filled in (even the steel or lead or whatever penny it was they used one or two years in WWII) up to the point my Dad gave it to me as a gift, late 60's, I think. Would love to know what it's worth, but won't part with it.

Check with museum curators. It might be a worthy item to donate to the local museum in your will.

Sometimes things like old tools, old toys, old money and the like are valuable for their historic significance; because people so often throw them out, destroy them, or just shove them in an attic and forget them.

And I don't mean necessarily monetarily valuable - I mean valuable to historians and museums. Intellectually valuable.

Now, I don't know whether a coin collection like this one is intellectually valuable. But your museum's curators will.

[depechemodefan]

Yup, I used to flip those foreclosed houses.

what do you mean, "flip"?

I have a house on my property that we used to rent but allowed to go to pot since the people we tend to attract to rent the house were into pot (hee). So sometimes I will go look at it. I noticed a big hole in the ceiling. The only thing I can imagine is someone got in (windows are broken, though some former tenants tend to break the windows because they forgot their keys and want to get in) and started striping the place for copper. The rest of the house looks ok, though.

Of course, crappy neighbor lady (who rents her big building for parties, and she runs some type of company that involves her workers working at odd hours, like 3am, 4am, 5am 6 am and 7am) started to bitch that people were getting into that house and she was afraid of those people. REally? You didn't call the cops on this if you were afraid?

Though I really should tear down that house, since it raises the price of my appriasel.

[Jay 2K Winger]

what do you mean, "flip"?

"Flipping" generally means buying something on the cheap, fixing them up and making them look pretty, then turning around and selling them.

There are a number of "Flip This House"-type shows on various HGTV-like channels.