Subdude Posted October 21, 2013 Share Posted October 21, 2013 From Culturemap: A ring of squatters has been busy across the Houston in recent months, filing mountains of county paperwork in an effort to gain legal control dozens of area properties.KPRC Ch.2 uncovered the wily group after reporting on a pair of women who moved into a vacant Heights home just blocks from the 19th Street shopping district.The lady schemers are not the only people attempting to secure "adverse possession" — an obscure legal technique similar to "squatter's rights" through which potential owners maintain a property for a period of time and eventually claim legitimate ownership.The economic downturn and foreclosure crisis has brought about a spike in recent "adverse possession" claims throughout the county and the state. Rarely do cases result in a full transfer of title. Area attorney Lisa Mathews tells KPRC she has discovered a local team of people using the law to gain possession of more than 60 Harris County properties. The same lawyer and notary are listed on each filing. http://houston.culturemap.com/news/realestate/10-03-13-squatters-target-the-heights-moving-into-vacant-homes-and-claiming-ownership/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s3mh Posted October 21, 2013 Share Posted October 21, 2013 Adverse possession is not an obscure legal technique. It is a very common aspect of real estate law. Adverse possession is really supposed to be like a statute of limitations/repose requiring someone claiming an interest in real property who has notice of a rival claim to either take action to challenge the rival interest or to lose that interest if they do not take action within 10 years (some other interests in real property have different deadlines in Texas). It was never meant to be a way for people with absolutely no interest in land to be able to take advantage of the slow legal process of dealing with someone who died intestate with no relatives around to claim the property. Those properties can frequently sit idle for years before local officials begin the process of selling it to pay the taxes, which can also take years. Texas needs to either add a bad faith exception to adverse possession or to allow tolling of the time limit in the case of a property owner dying intestate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
august948 Posted October 21, 2013 Share Posted October 21, 2013 There was a case about this regarding a guy who claimed a $350k house in a suburb of Dallas. He got evicted after about 6 months. He actively pursued publicity about it so I have to wonder how long he might have been able to stay there if he'd kept quiet about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdude Posted December 9, 2013 Share Posted December 9, 2013 Vandals shoot out car windows in Heights areaHOUSTON (KTRK) -- There's a big mess for a number of people who live in the Woodland Heights area. At least 20 vehicles parked up and down the streets there had windows shattered.Officers tell us they believe either a BB gun or an air rifle was used and say cars, trucks and at least one home was damaged. At least 20 vehicles along about five different streets were damaged. Police believe it could be teenagers responsible and they're looking for a white Dodge Dakota with a black camper on it. http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=9353846 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longhorn Posted August 14, 2014 Share Posted August 14, 2014 Last night, from approximately 12:45 a.m. until 1:30 a.m., there was a helicopter circling over the Heights. Does anyone know why? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avossos Posted August 14, 2014 Share Posted August 14, 2014 I heard it. I was wondering why as well.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bedmondson Posted August 14, 2014 Share Posted August 14, 2014 http://m.click2houston.com/news/police-suspects-arrested-after-sparking-3-chases/27472998 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J008 Posted August 28, 2014 Share Posted August 28, 2014 http://www.chron.com/houston/article/Man-dies-on-Heights-jogging-trail-5718063.php saw the victim on my way to work this morning. Pretty disturbing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s3mh Posted August 28, 2014 Share Posted August 28, 2014 Body is not covered. Investigators were still working on the deceased man as of 9 am. Avoid the area if you have kids in the car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BullMan008 Posted August 28, 2014 Share Posted August 28, 2014 Folks on ND Heights are freaking out. Growing up here, I've seen this before unfortunatly. It didnt happen all of the time but as a young man I saw scenes like this before We do need more police presence around here. Do we even know what happened? Where it happened? Did it happen in the Heights? Did he get dumped there? I think we should let the investigators figure it out before we flip out. Crime in HOUSTON is pretty bad. Very sad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marksmu Posted August 28, 2014 Share Posted August 28, 2014 Crime in all areas of Houston is not bad....The Heights is just getting worse and worse, and its reported more and more. I have lived my entire life in Houston, and the ONLY time anything bad ever happened to me was while living in the Heights. I had my garage broken into, and my truck was broken into several times...and I never once parked on the street...all my vehicle break ins were while out in the area...CVS, Kroger, and at a friends house on 21st. I have spent plenty of time in Memorial, West U, Bellaire, Galleria, Pearland, and Friendswood - and NONE of them have even a fraction of the crime as the Heights...I think the Heights is down there in the same category as midtown, as in, just assume its not safe, and hope for the best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdude Posted August 28, 2014 Share Posted August 28, 2014 Is ND Heights a message board? Crime in all areas of Houston is not bad....The Heights is just getting worse and worse, and its reported more and more. I have lived my entire life in Houston, and the ONLY time anything bad ever happened to me was while living in the Heights. I had my garage broken into, and my truck was broken into several times...and I never once parked on the street...all my vehicle break ins were while out in the area...CVS, Kroger, and at a friends house on 21st. I have spent plenty of time in Memorial, West U, Bellaire, Galleria, Pearland, and Friendswood - and NONE of them have even a fraction of the crime as the Heights...I think the Heights is down there in the same category as midtown, as in, just assume its not safe, and hope for the best. Crime has been a problem in the Heights for a long time, hasn't it? When I lived there we were broken into twice, both times in broad daylight. The second time they rammed the front door hard enough to break the frame, with the door still in it, right out of the wall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BullMan008 Posted August 28, 2014 Share Posted August 28, 2014 Lots of petty thefts and break ins in the Heights yes. There has always been crime here and all over Houston. You just get more of it in your face because of social media. Theives are going to where the $$ is. Its not a small town folks. WE NEED MORE POLICE PRESENCE. Memorial, West U, Bellaire, Galleria, Pearland, and Friendswood uhm....OK @Subdude NextDoor Heights app. I mean, what do I know? Ive only been here for over 40 years. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trymahjong Posted August 28, 2014 Share Posted August 28, 2014 Crime in all areas of Houston is not bad....The Heights is just getting worse and worse, and its reported more and more. I have lived my entire life in Houston, and the ONLY time anything bad ever happened to me was while living in the Heights. I had my garage broken into, and my truck was broken into several times...and I never once parked on the street...all my vehicle break ins were while out in the area...CVS, Kroger, and at a friends house on 21st.I have spent plenty of time in Memorial, West U, Bellaire, Galleria, Pearland, and Friendswood - and NONE of them have even a fraction of the crime as the Heights...I think the Heights is down there in the same category as midtown, as in, just assume its not safe, and hope for the best.I read your post about crime in the Heights getting worse and worse and am troubled by it.Each month ( first Tuesdays at 1600 State street) the Central one ( Montrose) and Central two (Heights) districts of HPD host the positive interaction police program=> PIP. I have been attending these open meetings since 2005. I was really interested in crime stats within Montrose. The HPD Captain usually speaks at each meeting and a few times a year the Police Chief also speaks. There are booklets of previous months crime data listed by street address that are distributed.Why I am troubled by your comment is that for the most part these meetings convey that overall crime has been going down. Violent crime down considerable. Car Burlgary is the most prevalent, going up one mOnth and decreasing the next and vice versa. So what's up with that? I'm not a resident of the Heights but rather Montrose. Are Heights residents observing a big uptick in crime? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ross Posted August 28, 2014 Share Posted August 28, 2014 Marksmu, are the Heights crime stats going up, or just the perception? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s3mh Posted August 28, 2014 Share Posted August 28, 2014 There has been a pretty good spike in vehicle B/E in the past two years in the Heights. Most of the other major crime statistics in the Heights have been on the decline over the past few years and are actually very good for a major urban area. The annual murder rate in the Heights is pretty much 1. HPD views vehicle B/E as a preventable crime and is not going to take officers out of high crime areas to patrol the Heights to keep people from having their laptops stolen out of their cars. The fact of the matter is that the Heights is easy picking for criminals. Alleys are great for breaking into garages. There are a lot of vehicles parked in driveways and on the street. It is very easy to get in and out of almost any section of the Heights because of the proximity of each section of the Heights to a major thoroughfare and highway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marksmu Posted August 28, 2014 Share Posted August 28, 2014 There has been a pretty good spike in vehicle B/E in the past two years in the Heights. Most of the other major crime statistics in the Heights have been on the decline over the past few years and are actually very good for a major urban area. The annual murder rate in the Heights is pretty much 1. HPD views vehicle B/E as a preventable crime and is not going to take officers out of high crime areas to patrol the Heights to keep people from having their laptops stolen out of their cars. The fact of the matter is that the Heights is easy picking for criminals. Alleys are great for breaking into garages. There are a lot of vehicles parked in driveways and on the street. It is very easy to get in and out of almost any section of the Heights because of the proximity of each section of the Heights to a major thoroughfare and highway. Look at this, I agree with everything S3MH just said. The heights is not nearly as dangerous as it once was, it is just petty crime, mostly cars, but there seems to be a recent increase in burglary as well... its quick smash and grabs in garages and houses too. That is what happened to me....Crooks came in down the alley, jumped an 8' privacy fence into my back yard, kicked my door to the garage in, and made off with bicycles and tools...I was home and never heard it. I think the reason the Heights is such an attractive target is the streets are in a perfect grid with multiple quick exits to multiple freeways...I mean a thief has any number of streets and alleys to use to get away and they all lead to a major artery (610, I-10, 45). Add to this the fact that the demographics in the Heights means higher dollar electronics, jewlrey, etc and its the perfect place to hit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s3mh Posted August 28, 2014 Share Posted August 28, 2014 https://www.dropbox.com/s/poqnzv2l7dmh1zx/HeightsCrimeStats_%20Jan-May_2010-2014.xlsx?dl=0 Someone on nextdoor pulled crime stats for the Heights. We only have Jan to May for 2014, so they only compared the first five months of the year from the previous few years. Generally, it shows a big spike in theft in 2013, but improving numbers in 2014 and a very good trend overall. But there will always be more crime in the Heights than in other neighborhoods for the reasons I previously mentioned. However, I do not think that the Heights is dangerous and do not think that we are in the middle of a crime wave. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kylejack Posted August 28, 2014 Share Posted August 28, 2014 The guy had head trauma. Coroner hasn't ruled how he got it yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triton Posted August 29, 2014 Share Posted August 29, 2014 Is ND Heights a message board? It's called Next Door. It's more of a community Facebook. You won't be able to access ND Heights unless you live there or in a surrounding neighborhood, and you have to validate where you live. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverJK Posted August 29, 2014 Share Posted August 29, 2014 Criminals also know that breaking into a detached garage is "burglary of a building" while an attached garage could be "burglary of a habitation" and those two have significantly different punishments. I actually think the crime has gone down a good bit since i've lived here (6+ years). A few years ago we had multiple armed robberies, car robbery, sexual assualts on the trails, and a someone even got shot in the face accross the street from me... It seems like people on ND like to think crime has got soo much worse when they are the victim. I'm not sure how much more police presence will help.. .there is a LOT of police presence on my street yet car breakins happen regularly. I think more lighting would definitely be a good thing though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kylejack Posted August 29, 2014 Share Posted August 29, 2014 The vast majority of crime in The Heights and Montrose seems to be property crime. People breaking into cars, stealing bikes, stealing stuff from garages, the Heights pooper (lol), stuff like that. The most serious rash I saw of crime in The Heights in recent memory was the arsonist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purpledevil Posted August 29, 2014 Share Posted August 29, 2014 Pfftt. Worse thing I ever saw in the Heights was a patron from the beer joint peddling down 26th street, a white Ford truck with a camper pull up even to him, pulled out a gun and shot him in the face. He fell dead in our driveway.Next worse was the guy running up on the porch of 638 E. 26th, banging on the door at 3 in the morning, and another guy walking up on the porch and sticking a knife in the first guy. He died on the porch. I can't tell you how many nights occurred where there was a spray of automatic gunfire that rang through the night, or police chases that ran through Sunset Heights back then. Just too many to count. You think crime is bad there now, you should've witnessed what the Heights was like 30-40 years ago, when just walking down North Main at night was an adventure all to itself. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kylejack Posted August 29, 2014 Share Posted August 29, 2014 Not to mention the Candy Man serial killings. Heights has changed a lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverJK Posted August 29, 2014 Share Posted August 29, 2014 Walking North Main at night could still be an adventure... I had a shotgun pulled on me just off of main not too long ago while longboarding on the street (i was on the street but the "thug" thought we were infringing on his "territory") Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trymahjong Posted August 29, 2014 Share Posted August 29, 2014 (edited) The vast majority of crime in The Heights and Montrose seems to be property crime. People breaking into cars, stealing bikes, stealing stuff from garages, the Heights pooper (lol), stuff like that. The most serious rash I saw of crime in The Heights in recent memory was the arsonist.I have to say that in Montrose Burglary of Motor vehicle is #1 crime-- Avondale is close to HPD storefront many times ( maybe just to prove their point- but also I'm sure because many cars are in our neighborhood because of the restaurants and bars) the officers walk our neighborhood and put "report" cards on windshield on whether you have passed or failed as a candidate for BMV-- The report back from HPD is always that more cars fail. Mainly because cell phones or laptops or whatever is left visible in cars but many cars are left unlocked---- this is after Avondale papers our neighborhood with warnings about type of thing. So I'm at a loss to know what to say. BMV keeps going up. Edited August 29, 2014 by trymahjong 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triton Posted August 30, 2014 Share Posted August 30, 2014 Walking North Main at night could still be an adventure... I had a shotgun pulled on me just off of main not too long ago while longboarding on the street (i was on the street but the "thug" thought we were infringing on his "territory")I live on North Main... where did this occur? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heightsite Posted August 30, 2014 Share Posted August 30, 2014 How long does it take to find out if the victim was a transient or resident? Seems like that's not too much to ask or report to calm the gentrified folks of the Heights. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heights Posted August 31, 2014 Share Posted August 31, 2014 I pass by the corner of Heights/I-10 at approx. midnight five nights a week. There are usually a number of homeless people gathered at the seating area in the esplanade. They also walk about in the street with seemingly no regard for traffic. It will be interesting to learn more about this incident. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverJK Posted September 2, 2014 Share Posted September 2, 2014 I live on North Main... where did this occur? somewhere south of Spanish Flowers / North of Pecore. I think it was some likely grandchildren of a homeowner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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