It is never-ending - I mean who can believe this stuff?
It was 12:15 last evening (this morning!) when the phone rang. It was the dispatcher from another county's Sheriff. A complaint had been registered with the Sheriff's Office that one of my listings (a vacant REO property) was full of action!
Oh yes, a neighbor reported to the Sheriff that there were people in the house breaking glass, throwing things around, and being generally destructive.
The Sheriff's dispatcher called me to get my permission for the Sheriff to break into the house to apprehend the trespassers. They needed my okay to essentially, break down the door if they felt it was necessary to apprehend the offenders.
What would you say to the Sheriff? Of course, go get the rascals and stop the damage! Mind you, it's 15 minutes past midnight on a Thursday night/Friday morning, and I have an appointment at 8:30 a.m., and the property is 60 minutes away!
As it turns out, the Sheriff broke into the house and found NOTHING WAS OUT OF ORDER!
WHO PAYS? For starters, I would front the repair money and then make a request to my asset management company for reimbursement (and I'm not sure they'd reimburse me for an authorized break-in). No, the neighbor who mistakenly made the call would not be liable - after all, he could be an ally were this to actually happen in the future. I wouldn't want to alienate his willingness to help out.
As it turned out, break-in damage was minimized and we Ladies Who Mean Business went out to the property the next day and secured it.
The neighbor, you ask: was he drinking, or dreaming, or looking for a little action on a record breaking hot night?
Only God knows for sure, and He's very good with confidentiality!
I sure hope the purchase offer expected this weekend on this property is not affected by the fact that four patrol cars answered the dispatch call - was a slow night in the city!
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