A Michigan family is finally breathing a sigh of relief after squatters who moved in next door, disrupting the neighborhood for four years, were finally kicked out.
Demarko Smith of Dowagiac, near South Bend, says his family feared for their safety, including that of his wife and son, after one of his neighbors allowed a man, his ramshackle campers and his friends to occupy his yard. rear.
Problems arose after the death of the owner. Although the descendants’ family attempted to reclaim the house and return it to the bank, the state of Michigan’s lenient squatter laws allowed the squatters to take over the property entirely.
Smith erected a six-foot fence around his garden to protect his own property from constant disturbances from the house next door, although at one point some men attempted to tear down the fence, leaving it partially damaged.
Demarko Smith of Dowagiac, near South Bend, Michigan, says his family feared for their safety, including that of his wife and son, after one of their neighbors allowed a man, his rickety campers and his friends to occupy his backyard.
Squatters living next door were finally kicked out of the house after years of illegal activity
Smith shared his joy that the squatters had finally been removed in a post on his personal Facebook page.
‘Our nightmare of squatting neighbors comes to an end starting today. I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy, the last 4 years have been hell. Having to be on call 24/7 in your own home is horrible,’ he began.
‘I can’t believe the city/bank allowed this to go on for so long. They demolished the house, the pipes, the electric boiler and the hole in the roof.
‘From the 6 hour police standoff to the suspicious people walking around the backyard with flashlights every night up to no good. Chemical smoke coming out of the wood stove. No electricity, no running water. There are a lot of other things I don’t even want to talk about.
“We’ve had to deal with the worst of the worst,” Smith explained before describing the extensive security measures he had to implement.
‘We spent thousands of dollars to improve security throughout the house to keep my family safe. ADT Security. Motion detectors around the house. 120 dB outdoor siren. Door knobs with fingerprint scanning, 14 cameras with night vision motion detection. Seven-day battery backup in case the power goes out,” Smith listed.
Smith posted a recap of everything he’s endured over the past few years in a Facebook post.
The house next door became a dumping ground for motorhomes and waste
One of Smith’s 14 cameras would capture the strange comings and goings of the home.
“I’m so glad this is finally over and I also want to thank the neighborhood for sticking together and the Dowagiac Police for everything they did to help.”
Smith, who works as a DJ, described how he and his wife spent at least four hours a day reviewing footage for anything unpleasant, even while he worked.
However, despite numerous arrests and police interventions, the squatters continued to cause chaos.
Smith criticized the city for not adequately addressing the problem. “You can write people a shoutout for their lawn and then you have people doing things like this and nothing happens,” she said.
Finally, after years of agitation, the bank evicted the squatters.
“When they came out of there, we were on the porch crying because we were so happy they were gone,” Smith said. Unfortunately, the squatters moved to another street in the area, which turned out to be the same street as Smith’s mother-in-law.
“Now they’re angry there,” he said.
Smith explained how the situation started innocuously.
Night Vision Cameras Capture Disturbing Behavior at All Hours of the Night
The house next door became a dumping ground for all kinds of garbage.
‘When he moved in, he started bringing in rubbish, old washing machines and dryers. We hung out in our backyard. We have a movie theater and a bar, and there were always random people there,” she said. FoxNews.
‘They didn’t have running water or electricity for about three years. He threw away most of the electricity. He removed the copper pipes and sold the boiler.
“We have 14 cameras around our property,” Smith said. ‘They used drugs there, I already know that. I have people on camera walking inside the house with backpacks and leaving the house counting money. Some days we couldn’t go out because it smelled like chemicals through the wood stove. Firefighters responded eight times. “The shed in the backyard caught fire,” he continued.
Smith said things were so bad that her little girl couldn’t play outside because of the chemical burn.
The Smiths felt captive in their own home as they continually had to monitor the cameras.
Smith said he couldn’t enjoy his outdoor hot tub or home theater because there would be a burning chemical smell wafting through the fence from the house next door.
“My wife and daughter didn’t feel safe here; when I left, they felt terrified. We felt like we were cornered,” he said.
Friends urged Smith and his wife to leave, but after spending 16 years building their dream home that included a bar and hot tub, they refused to be kicked out.
“To feel like this in your own home is really sad,” he said.
‘We would go on vacation and sometimes we would cancel it because I had a bad feeling. We stayed home countless summers. We couldn’t have fun because we had to worry about our house. I do not wish it nor to my worst enemy.