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Squatter's domicile in presale
NATHAN GILLES
THE MID-COUNTY MEMO

Squatters have occupied this home in Parkrose since last year, according to neighbors and police.
Mid-county Memo photos/Tim Curran
Neighbors have seen squatters stripping metal off the garage at 3728 N.E. 115th Ave., and loading it on a truck, presumably for scrap.
For nearly a year, squatters have occupied a house illegally at 3728 N.E. 115th Ave. in Parkrose. Following months of reports from neighbors that illegal activity-including drugs sales-was occurring on the property, the foreclosure process is moving forward.

In February, the Memo first reported that Wells Fargo, the bank holding the house's mortgage, had filed an order for foreclosure with Multnomah County. The latest news on the foreclosure process is it's happening, albeit slowly.

“We sent the foreclosure sale request to the sheriff's office in February and are waiting on the sheriff to schedule the sale,” wrote Wells Fargo spokesperson Tom Unger in an email to the Memo.

Unger declined the Memo's request for a phone interview.

Unger was unable to confirm where the house was in the foreclosure process or how long the squatters might continue to live at property without fear of eviction.

For the past year, the Portland police have received multiple complaints from neighbors about the house at Northeast 115th Avenue but were unable to evict its squatters because Well Fargo hadn't yet put the house into foreclosure.

In December, Wells Fargo told the Memo the house was officially the responsibility of its previous owner's heirs.

The home's previous owner was Steven Doggett. He died in September 2011. According to Portland Police Officer Joshua Buller, Doggett's rightful heirs are his parents, Sinclair and Joan Doggett.

Buller says the Doggetts told him they forfeited their right to the house shortly after their son died, in effect “handing the keys over” to Wells Fargo. This left what to do about 3728 N.E. 115th Ave. in the bank's hands.

However, following Doggett's death, the house fell into legal limbo, according to Buller. It stood empty until July 2013, when Parkrose neighbors first noticed squatters moving in. Despite repeated calls from concerned neighbors to Wells Fargo and the police, it wasn't until the Memo first reported on the squatter house that the bank proceeded with the foreclosure process (“Unlawful occupants squat in Parkrose neighborhood”, December 2013).

But while Wells Fargo hasn't been exactly forthcoming about the house's status, the city and county have.

The latest report from Buller, who is also neighborhood liaison for Parkrose, is 3728 N.E. 115th Ave. is now in presale.

“Which means until it gets officially sold through the foreclosure process, they [Wells Fargo] don't have legal control over the property,” said Buller. “But once it gets officially sold, they [Wells Fargo] can give us the authority to go in, evict, and help close the place down.”

The Multnomah County Sheriff's department also confirmed the house was in presale and hinted at when the foreclosure process might be complete and the house sold.

“No sale has been scheduled yet for the house,” said Multnomah County Sheriff's Captain Monte Reiser, who spoke for the sheriff's department.

Reiser says he thinks it will be at least another 30 days before the sale process begins, followed by another month or two before the house is finally sold. In the meantime, Buller says he continues to get reports about suspected illegal activity at the house. “I can't give you numbers, but I talk to district officers, and they continue to have problems there,” said Buller. The problems include reports of suspicious individuals and activities, including suspected drug sales and use, according to Buller.

In December, the Memo reported 3728 N.E. 115th Ave. definitely had been tied to one drug arrest, that of multiple felon John Joseph Skaggs, who is now serving time in prison for selling and possessing heroin.

No formal charges have been made against the house's current occupants. However, reports to police and the Portland Bureau of Development Services (BDS) continue to pile up.

In November, BDS received a complaint that the backyard of the squatter house was “full of garbage, furniture, appliances, etc.” In January, following an inspection of the property, BDS hired a contractor to clean up the mess. As the Memo reported, a trailer of junk and trash was removed from the property (“Foreclosure on squat house proceeding”, December 2013).

The clean up followed a search warrant the bureau received from the county to do the work. Since, a lien has been placed on the property to cover the costs.

Since the clean up, another garbage complaint has been filed, suggesting the squatters are again piling up trash in the backyard. The complaint, filed with BDS and confirmed by its inspector reads: “Squatters are using backyard yard as dumping area.”

Previous complaints filed with BDS against the squatters at 3728 N.E. 115th Ave. include reports that the squatters illegally tapped in neighbors' electric and water services, according to Ed Marihart, Inspector Supervisor for BDS.

Marihart says the latest complaint filed with BDS concerns the removal of metal siding from a garage at the back of the property.

Parkrose neighbor Ron Van Cleave told the Memo in mid-April he and another neighbor phoned the police about the siding incident after they saw several men removing the garage's metal siding and placing it on a truck.

“So we both come to conclusion that they are selling it for scrap metal,” said Van Cleave.

Van Cleave says he saw the police show up, but he couldn't confirm what happened to the siding. He says he has continued to see suspicious activity outside of the house, including drug use and cash-exchanging hands.

Van Cleave says he spoke with a man identifying himself as a process server and suspects the foreclosure process is moving forward.

Officer Buller told the Memo the police will move to evict as soon as the sale goes through and Wells Fargo transfers the right of authority to them.

“The bottom line is, for the people living in the house, time is running out,” said Buller.
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