CBS News
Some homeowners left waiting in limbo as several states work out anti-squatting stances
New anti-squatter laws go into effect a week from Monday in both Florida and Tennessee, which will make it six states that have passed similar laws this year. But some U.S. homeowners aren’t waiting for new laws to help them confront the problem.
When Jean, an 81-year-old grandmother in Idaho, inherited a plot of commercial land in Los Angeles, she thought her financial worries were over — until squatters claimed the property. Jean says at least 20 people in a dozen RVs took control and barred her from her own land. At the same time, she says she has continued paying property taxes and liability insurance.
Jean says she’s spent her savings of about $100,000 to cover legal fees, taxes and lost rent. Although she found a buyer willing to take the property with the squatters, she says she had to drop her asking price by $800,000.
Squatters’ rights go back to the British legal system, where the idea was to ensure abandoned or unused property could be put to good use by people who needed it. But the good intentions of centuries-old law have created some modern-day nightmares.
At another Los Angeles property that’s been vacant for four years, squatters moved in after the owner died during the COVID-19 pandemic and no one in his family claimed it. The home has since fallen into disrepair and is riddled with broken windows, trash and graffiti.
Terri Cortez lives next door and says, “It’s been a horrible nightmare.” She wants the city to tear it down.
“I think the neighbors and I are very scared sometimes of what kind of people come up and people sometimes come in,” Cortez said.
Since law enforcement can’t do much and court battles can take years, other people are stepping in with different approaches.
Lando Thomas and Kimrey Kotchick run a company called “Squatter Squad.” They break the locks squatters install and put up cameras to monitor them around the clock.
But they say even that isn’t always enough to drive squatters away. In one incident, they were called in by a homeowner whose Airbnb guest overstayed his reservation and refused to leave.
Squatting has become a problem for landlords far beyond Southern California. One survey shows cities and counties in Georgia, Texas and Florida have more squatters than any other metropolitan area, according to the National Rental Home Council.
This story is Part 1 of a “CBS Evening News” report on squatting. Part 2 airs Tuesday, June 25, and will focus on solutions to the problem.
Amazon
Amazon’s biggest sales event of the year, Prime Day, is right around the corner. But you don’t have to wait for the highly anticipated sale to score deals. Amazon is offering plenty of early Prime Day deals that are available to shoppers right now, and the discounts are pretty solid.
One of our favorite early Prime Day deals is this $299 markdown on Eureka’s E10s robot vacuum and mop combo, a savings of up to 42%. This deal is a steal, as robot vacuums alone (not robot vacuum-mop combos) are quite expensive, with some models retailing for more than $1,000. To ensure you get the greatest savings on the Eureka E10, remember to add the $199 coupon before checkout at Amazon.
Thinking about becoming an Amazon Prime member? We’ve got all your Prime Day 2024 questions answered, with info on key dates and what you need to know to get the best prices on home, fitness gear, tech and more on Amazon.
Eureka E10s robot vacuum and mop: $400 (save $299)
Eureka
The Eureka E10s is a two-in-one cleaning device that will vacuum and mop your floors for you. The robot offers suction power strong enough to be able to lift dust, dirt and hair off the ground, making this a great option for people with pets. This Eureka model can vacuum and mop at the same time, with technology that can identify carpets and rugs. So when your robot vacuum senses that it’s approaching your rug, the mopping pad lifts up to prevent the rug from getting wet.
This robot vacuum can avoid obstacles and map out your home. For a more personalized cleaning, download the corresponding app, which allows you to set up cleaning schedules and no-go zones in your home. And if you have Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant, you can control the vacuum with your voice.
The self-emptying Eureka E10s can hold up to 45 days worth of debris in its docking station. You can expect this to run for up to three hours before it needs to be charged back up again.
The Eureka E10s robot vacuum has a 4.1-star rating on Amazon. One reviewer wrote, “I have a black lab and got tired of how much hair was showing up on them despite constant sweeping. I’ve had 3 different robot vacs and this is BY FAR the best. My floors have never been cleaner. Highly recommend.”
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If you’ve been searching for an inexpensive way to borrow money lately, you may have found yourself spending a lot of time looking around. That’s because inflation, even though it’s dropped significantly, and the higher interest rates meant to tame it, have caused rates on a multitude of credit options to soar. But if you’re one of the tens of millions of homeowners in the United States right now, you still have one cost-effective alternative to pursue – your home equity.
With a home equity loan or home equity line of credit (HELOC), owners can tap into the equity they’ve accumulated in their homes to then use for any expense they see fit (or to even pay off or consolidate other, higher-interest debt). Like all financial products and services, however, home equity borrowing needs to take place at the right time for it to be truly beneficial for owners. And, this July, could be one of those times. Below, we’ll detail three reasons why you may want to tap into your home equity now.
Start by seeing what home equity loan rate you could secure here today.
3 reasons to access your home equity this July
If you want to truly optimize your home equity borrowing situation, it makes sense to act promptly. Here are three timely reasons to access your equity this July:
You may have a lot to utilize
The average homeowner has around $305,000 worth of equity right now. And while they may not be able to borrow all of that (home equity borrowing is typically capped at 80% to 85% of your overall equity), it still adds up to a sizable amount of money that can be easily accessed with a loan or HELOC.
However, the amount of equity you have is subject to change and could fall or rise in the future, partially based on economic factors out of your control. So it’s beneficial to act now, with home equity levels near record levels. If you wait, and the economics change, you’ll have less to work with than if you had acted this July.
Find out how much home equity you have to access here.
Rates are lower and could drop further
Home equity loan and HELOC rates are both under 10% right now — with the prospect for both to drop even further. A formal cut to the federal funds rate would ensure that rates on both products fall. But another cooling in the inflation rate (the next report comes out July 11) could cause lenders to offer lower rates now in anticipation of an official cut to come later in the year. So this could be an opportune time to act, particularly if you proceed with a HELOC this July, which comes with a variable interest rate that could drop even further (you’ll need to refinance a home equity loan to get a better rate).
The alternatives are (still) too expensive
As mentioned above, the search for cost-effective credit options is an arduous one right now. Credit cards come with rates over 21% right now and personal loans are around 12%. And that’s for qualified borrowers with clean credit histories and high credit scores. If you don’t have both, you may get offered even higher rates than those two averages. With these as the popular alternatives, then, a home equity loan or HELOC may be your cheapest option this July.
The bottom line
While home equity loan and HELOC rates have been lower in recent years, they’ve also been higher. And with the potential for rates to drop even further soon, this July could be a smart time to access your home equity. Not only are homeowners sitting on an average of $300,000 plus worth of equity now, the rates are still lower than popular alternatives and they could fall even further, perhaps before the end of 2024. Just be sure to go into the home equity borrowing process focused and with the ability to pay back what you owe as your home will serve as collateral in these circumstances and you could risk losing it if you can’t repay your debt.
Amazon
Amazon’s biggest sales event of the year, Prime Day, is right around the corner. But you don’t have to wait for the highly anticipated sale to score deals. Amazon is offering plenty of early Prime Day deals that are available to shoppers right now, and the discounts are pretty solid.
One of our favorite early Prime Day deals is this $299 markdown on Eureka’s E10s robot vacuum and mop combo, a savings of up to 42%. This deal is a steal, as robot vacuums alone (not robot vacuum-mop combos) are quite expensive, with some models retailing for more than $1,000. To ensure you get the greatest savings on the Eureka E10, remember to add the $199 coupon before checkout at Amazon.
Thinking about becoming an Amazon Prime member? We’ve got all your Prime Day 2024 questions answered, with info on key dates and what you need to know to get the best prices on home, fitness gear, tech and more on Amazon.
Eureka E10s robot vacuum and mop: $400 (save $299)
Eureka
The Eureka E10s is a two-in-one cleaning device that will vacuum and mop your floors for you. The robot offers suction power strong enough to be able to lift dust, dirt and hair off the ground, making this a great option for people with pets. This Eureka model can vacuum and mop at the same time, with technology that can identify carpets and rugs. So when your robot vacuum senses that it’s approaching your rug, the mopping pad lifts up to prevent the rug from getting wet.
This robot vacuum can avoid obstacles and map out your home. For a more personalized cleaning, download the corresponding app, which allows you to set up cleaning schedules and no-go zones in your home. And if you have Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant, you can control the vacuum with your voice.
The self-emptying Eureka E10s can hold up to 45 days worth of debris in its docking station. You can expect this to run for up to three hours before it needs to be charged back up again.
The Eureka E10s robot vacuum has a 4.1-star rating on Amazon. One reviewer wrote, “I have a black lab and got tired of how much hair was showing up on them despite constant sweeping. I’ve had 3 different robot vacs and this is BY FAR the best. My floors have never been cleaner. Highly recommend.”
