3 ms·

Instagram account lets you squat in metro homes

41 points by harambae 3y ago

jacurtis 3y ago
So this is a crazy story, I was aware of the growing problem of home squatting, but have never heard anything of someone turning it into "a business". The story never explains how they get the keys, which was the part I was the most confused about. But after looking into it more, what I think is happening is that they tell the person to choose any home on the Rently website. I have used Rently before, which has an awesome feature that lets you tour any home on your own schedule (without a real estate agent or homeowner). You basically just schedule an appointment through the app, then at your scheduled time you go to the home and you get a temporary code for a lockbox which has the key inside. You let yourself into the home and tour it, then put the key back when you are done. I am assuming that after you "choose" the home on Rently, the people running this Instagram account put fake IDs and info into the Rently form, and then show up and get the keys from the lockbox. They probably cut the lockbox off after that (or maybe they don't care that much and just leave it on). Then they bring you the keys. Then you take the keys and squat in the house. Which is funny, because there's no reason you need the middleman here. If you're going to be a criminal by squatting you might as well save the $1,400 and steal the keys yourself.
- fullspectrumdev 3y ago
  Most of those “lock boxes” for keys are shit and can be opened non destructively in under a minute flat. No need to commit any damage to them. Especially the electronic ones, a sharp slap will open a good number of those.
- kube-system 3y ago
  Economically speaking, the middleman is filling an information gap. Street criminals are kind of dumb but there's a lot of slightly smarter street criminals who realize that they can exploit dumber criminals.
- gaws 3y ago
  > The story never explains how they get the keys For an "investigation," it's mind-blowing the reporter didn't think to include this detail.
BlueTemplar 3y ago
"metro" as in (Atlanta's) metropolitan statistical area, this is not about squatting in subways' nooks and crannies ("subway" as underground transportation, not sandwicheries).
- jacurtis 3y ago
  Yeah that confused me too. Metro is a terrible title for this, because metro is used in every major part of the country to mean the metropolitan area of the relative city. In this case it refers to Atlanta, but it could just as well be Denver metro, Chicago Metro, or anywhere else. The title should read "Instagram account lets you squat in Atlanta homes"
  - throwanem 3y ago
    The article is from an Atlanta news station via Yahoo News. It's written for a local audience who do not require the clarification.
- gnabgib 3y ago
  Hmm, it's a bad headline for national or international news. Should probably just say "Atlanta" for HN benefit, although that would be editorializing. There's something fishy about the article upon closer inspection.. reportedly by "Justin Gray" but he's quoted in the article more than once. Does Justin talk about himself in the third person? It looks like the source-article (on wsbtv.com) has the same language[0]. [0]: https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/atlanta/this-is-stealing-channel-2-goes-undercover-instagram-account-lets-you-squat-metro-homes/FLBEP4MRV5FG5E7R6M3WCIWOMQ/ https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/atlanta/this-is-stealing-ch...
  - jacurtis 3y ago
    I read the whole article and it was very difficult to follow. Then I realized it was a transcript from the video at the top. Watching the video made much more sense. Like you, I was confused about Justin Gray since he repeatedly quoted himself. There were also a lot of unclear pronouns throughout (things like, "He told him how he did that") which I really struggled to follow initially. However, watching the video it made more sense. So Justin Gray is the reporter who did the story. He narrates the video, and so the transcript makes it seem like he is quoting himself, but its just a narration. Like I said, I read the whole article first and felt like it was written by a 5th grader. Then I realized it was a video afterward.
alexey-salmin 3y ago
> As soon as they saw our Channel 2 Action News camera coming, the 1 Time Payment Homes representative took off running. > “Hey sir, it’s Justin Gray with Channel 2. Are you selling a squatter home right here? You got the keys? Did you talk to J.P. about the keys?” Gray asked the representative as they took off in a car An interesting way to interview criminals
- givemeethekeys 3y ago
  I wonder if there is a legal / technical reason they did that. Why not see the transaction to its logical conclusion? Why not interview them undercover? Why not line up a second deal and then get them arrested?
  - DANmode 3y ago
    This is awesome. It's because, at minimum half of "average viewers" will consider not engaging with such questions as an admission of guilt.
snotrockets 3y ago
And in other news, a person was seen smoking weed.
egberts1 3y ago
if you are a “Fisbo” or planning on a For Sale By Owner (FSBO) of your home/condo/farmland, it really does pay to invest in floor-based web cams in each room, garage and all driveways and then cellularly send it to a commercial alarm monitoring station for 3-month storage. Do not forget to add a heavy base to each webcam. This way, you have additional court/legal/police evidence of the squatter-to-be and can get Sheriffs to evict the intruder(s).
- rokkitmensch 3y ago
  Would a traditional alarm system that just makes a hell of a racket on perimeter breach work? What if you called the cops in immediately on "home invasion"?
  - egberts1 3y ago
    Home invasion would be one. A video-documented evidence is very useful in many applications. FSBO is that most attractive target by squatters.
devaiops9001 3y ago
In enough places, disabling the central heating and removing windows is a good way to get squatters to leave.
- euroderf 3y ago
  > removing windows is a good way to get squatters to leave. Squatting squirrels ? Trespassing pigeons ?
jpl56 3y ago
Looks like every time lock boxes appear, something fishy is going on.

41 points by harambae 3y ago

So this is a crazy story, I was aware of the growing problem of home squatting, but have never heard anything of someone turning it into "a business". The story never explains how they get the keys, which was the part I was the most confused about. But after looking into it more, what I think is happening is that they tell the person to choose any home on the Rently website. I have used Rently before, which has an awesome feature that lets you tour any home on your own schedule (without a real estate agent or homeowner). You basically just schedule an appointment through the app, then at your scheduled time you go to the home and you get a temporary code for a lockbox which has the key inside. You let yourself into the home and tour it, then put the key back when you are done. I am assuming that after you "choose" the home on Rently, the people running this Instagram account put fake IDs and info into the Rently form, and then show up and get the keys from the lockbox. They probably cut the lockbox off after that (or maybe they don't care that much and just leave it on). Then they bring you the keys. Then you take the keys and squat in the house. Which is funny, because there's no reason you need the middleman here. If you're going to be a criminal by squatting you might as well save the $1,400 and steal the keys yourself.

fullspectrumdev 3y ago
Most of those “lock boxes” for keys are shit and can be opened non destructively in under a minute flat. No need to commit any damage to them. Especially the electronic ones, a sharp slap will open a good number of those.
kube-system 3y ago
Economically speaking, the middleman is filling an information gap. Street criminals are kind of dumb but there's a lot of slightly smarter street criminals who realize that they can exploit dumber criminals.
gaws 3y ago
> The story never explains how they get the keys For an "investigation," it's mind-blowing the reporter didn't think to include this detail.

BlueTemplar 3y ago

"metro" as in (Atlanta's) metropolitan statistical area, this is not about squatting in subways' nooks and crannies ("subway" as underground transportation, not sandwicheries).

jacurtis 3y ago
Yeah that confused me too. Metro is a terrible title for this, because metro is used in every major part of the country to mean the metropolitan area of the relative city. In this case it refers to Atlanta, but it could just as well be Denver metro, Chicago Metro, or anywhere else. The title should read "Instagram account lets you squat in Atlanta homes"
- throwanem 3y ago
  The article is from an Atlanta news station via Yahoo News. It's written for a local audience who do not require the clarification.
gnabgib 3y ago
Hmm, it's a bad headline for national or international news. Should probably just say "Atlanta" for HN benefit, although that would be editorializing. There's something fishy about the article upon closer inspection.. reportedly by "Justin Gray" but he's quoted in the article more than once. Does Justin talk about himself in the third person? It looks like the source-article (on wsbtv.com) has the same language[0]. [0]: https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/atlanta/this-is-stealing-channel-2-goes-undercover-instagram-account-lets-you-squat-metro-homes/FLBEP4MRV5FG5E7R6M3WCIWOMQ/ https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/atlanta/this-is-stealing-ch...
- jacurtis 3y ago
  I read the whole article and it was very difficult to follow. Then I realized it was a transcript from the video at the top. Watching the video made much more sense. Like you, I was confused about Justin Gray since he repeatedly quoted himself. There were also a lot of unclear pronouns throughout (things like, "He told him how he did that") which I really struggled to follow initially. However, watching the video it made more sense. So Justin Gray is the reporter who did the story. He narrates the video, and so the transcript makes it seem like he is quoting himself, but its just a narration. Like I said, I read the whole article first and felt like it was written by a 5th grader. Then I realized it was a video afterward.

alexey-salmin 3y ago

> As soon as they saw our Channel 2 Action News camera coming, the 1 Time Payment Homes representative took off running. > “Hey sir, it’s Justin Gray with Channel 2. Are you selling a squatter home right here? You got the keys? Did you talk to J.P. about the keys?” Gray asked the representative as they took off in a car An interesting way to interview criminals

givemeethekeys 3y ago
I wonder if there is a legal / technical reason they did that. Why not see the transaction to its logical conclusion? Why not interview them undercover? Why not line up a second deal and then get them arrested?
- DANmode 3y ago
  This is awesome. It's because, at minimum half of "average viewers" will consider not engaging with such questions as an admission of guilt.

snotrockets 3y ago

And in other news, a person was seen smoking weed.

egberts1 3y ago

if you are a “Fisbo” or planning on a For Sale By Owner (FSBO) of your home/condo/farmland, it really does pay to invest in floor-based web cams in each room, garage and all driveways and then cellularly send it to a commercial alarm monitoring station for 3-month storage. Do not forget to add a heavy base to each webcam. This way, you have additional court/legal/police evidence of the squatter-to-be and can get Sheriffs to evict the intruder(s).

rokkitmensch 3y ago
Would a traditional alarm system that just makes a hell of a racket on perimeter breach work? What if you called the cops in immediately on "home invasion"?
- egberts1 3y ago
  Home invasion would be one. A video-documented evidence is very useful in many applications. FSBO is that most attractive target by squatters.

devaiops9001 3y ago

In enough places, disabling the central heating and removing windows is a good way to get squatters to leave.

euroderf 3y ago
> removing windows is a good way to get squatters to leave. Squatting squirrels ? Trespassing pigeons ?

jpl56 3y ago

Looks like every time lock boxes appear, something fishy is going on.