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Squatters---What Can You Do?Part 3 Of A Multi-Part Series On SquattersSo...what can you do. There are many interesting stories on the internet about the financial impact squatters have had on homeowners and there are a few comments about how some individuals dealt with them---some legal, some not so legal. Needless to say, these homeowners were angry when faced with a home incursion and little support from the law. However, just be cool and think through the tips below. Protect your house.Based on extensive research the following represents the best preventive measures followed by the legal approach in dealing with squatters.Prevention:1. Install a monitored, motion-detection alarm system that alerts police to a break in. It’s best to catch squatters in the act of breaking in.2. Install cameras that store memory off premises as part of your alarm system.3. Install extra dead bolts in your outside doors. Use the kind that requires a key to unlock on both sides on both sides of the door. This prevents use of the doors if squatters come through a window.4. Secure your windows. This will require them to break in and that’s illegal.5. Check your property frequently. If gone, ask a friend to check on the property.6. If the property is not occupied, place “No Trespassing” signs everywhere.7. Pay your property taxes on time.In a squatting situation:1. Document the squatting. Take pictures of damage, broken entry areas, and interior.2. Take a friend and speak to the squatters; determine the situation.3. Notify police to determine trespass or squatting.4. Remain calm; do not escalate the situation.5. Get professional legal advice. Avoid self- help. Don’t threaten squatters.6. Don’t change the locks; don’t turn off utilities; don’t use force.7. Start the eviction process as soon as possible; serve an eviction notice.8. File an “unlawful detainer,” which is actually a lawsuit for eviction.9. Prepare for court; gather witnesses, documents, and evidence.10. If successful, ask Sheriff to remove squatters after receipt of a Writ of Possession. 11. Check local jurisdiction to determine how to handle property left behind.In summary, I highly recommend a column on this issue published in the July 3, 2023, issue of USA Today newspaper by Jonathan Turley. Turley is the J.B. & Mauricey Lou DugganBLast month, Bethan Moorcraft, a writer for “Moneywise,” wrote about a FOX Business interviewof United Handyman Association founder Flash Shelton. Shelton found squatters in his mother’s home.“I called local law enforcement and as soon as they saw there was furniture in the house, they said I had a squatter situation, they had basically no jurisdiction and they couldn’t do anything,” Shelton told Fox Business’ Stuart Varney. “So, I dissected the laws over a weekend and basically figured out that until there’s civil action, the squatters didn’t have any rights, so if I could switch places with them and become the squatter myself, I would assume those squatter rights.”“He had his mom write up a lease for him and got it notarized,” Moorcraft wrote, “he staked out the home early one morning, waiting for the squatters to leave. When they did eventually leave, Shelton entered the property, put up cameras and waited for them to return. Shelton’s scheme worked and the squatters left — but not without putting him in a potentially dangerous situation.”Okay...Squatters have your attention.C. Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at George Washington University Law School. He states: “The people involved are committing crimes, from breaking and entering to fraud to forgery. Yet, they are rarely prosecuted...Prosecutors and politicians play a critical role in these scams. Local authorities have done little to assist homeowners for a variety of reasons--- from political calculations to negligence. Instead, they force landowners to go into overtaxed housing courts with notoriously slow dockets. It often takes months or years to get an eviction order.”10www.heloteshighlights.comNovember 2023Simplify Your Feast By Slow Cooking Your Thanksgiving TurkeyS ide dishes abound on Thanksgiving dinner tables, but turkey still takes center stage. That realitycan put some pressure on hosts tasked with preparing the meal for their family and friends. Unlike some other dishes that require a laundry list of ingredients and lots of prep work, turkey is a relatively hands-off main course. However, home cooks know a dried out turkey is not on anyone’s holiday wish list. Slow cooking can help to avoid such a result. This recipe for “Holiday Turkey,” courtesy Andrew Schloss’ “Cooking Slow” (Chronicle Books), calls for slow cooking the bird. Such an approach should result in a delicious and mouth-watering main course that satisfies anyone who’s anxious to sit down at the Thanksgiving dinner table this year.Holiday TurkeyMakes 15 servings1 fresh turkey, about 15 pounds, preferably free-range1 tablespoon olive oilMashed Potatoes - continued from page 9 10 minutes, or until the potatoes are justtender. Drain, return to the heat and shake for a few minutes to dry them out; turn off the heat, cover the pan and keep warm.2. Meanwhile, blanch the basil. Plunge it into a saucepan of boiling water, cook a moment or two until the leaves wilt and slightly change color and lift out of the pot using a slotted spoon, then plunge into1 quart apple cider2 teaspoons dried poultry seasoningCoarse sea salt and freshly ground black pepperRemove the giblets from the turkey and discard (or save for another use). Rinse the turkey inside and out and pat dry with paper towels. Rub it all over with salt and pepper. Refrigerate, uncovered, for at least 12 hours and up to 24 hours. During that time, the surface of the turkey will become visibly dry and the skin will tighten; this encourages a nice crisp skin on the finished bird.Remove the turkey from the refrigerator 1 hour before you plan to start roasting. Preheat the oven to 450 F.Put the turkey on a rack set in a large, flameproof roasting pan. Drizzle the oil over the top.Roast for 1 hour. Reduce the oven temperature to 175 F. Pour the cider into the roasting pan and sprinkle the poultry seasoning in the liquid. Continue roasting until an instant-read thermometer inserteda bowl of ice water. Leave for about five minutes or until it turns brightly colored, then lift from the ice water.3. Heat the cream in a saucepan until bubbles form around the edge of the pan. 4. Squeeze the basil in your hands gently to rid it of excess water from cooking. Place in a food processor and whirl to purée. Slowly pour the hot cream into this puréed basilinto the thickest part of a thigh (but not touching bone) registers to170 F.Transfer the turkey to a carving board, tent loosely with aluminum foil, and let rest for about 15 minutes (see tip). Meanwhile, skim the fat from the surface of the liquid in the pan. Put the roasting pan over two burners and bring the pan drippings to a boil over high heat. Cook until the juices reduce and thicken slightly, enough to coat a spoon, about 10 minutes. Taste for seasoning. Carve the turkey and serve with cider pan juices.Resting tip: Slow-roasted meats need far less resting time (pretty much none) than those that are traditionally roasted. The reason for resting meat that has been roasted at a high temperature is to allow juices that have collected in the cooler center time to migrate back into the dryer (hotter) exterior sections after it comes out of the oven. Because slow-roasted meats are cooked evenly and a temperature thatand whirl until it forms a fragrant, pale green cream.5. Coarsely mash the potatoes with a masher, then add the basil cream and mash it in; work in the butter, and season to taste with salt and pepper. If you’re serving duck or lamb, serve the potatoes with a drizzle of the port reduction around the edge.keeps most of the juices in place, a resting period is largely unnecessary. A brief resting time does allow the meat to become a little firmer as it cools, making it easier to carve.