BRUNSWICK, Maine — Joe and Jackie Toth were evicted from their home of 40 years Wednesday.
The couple has paid their rent, managed the six-apartment building for other tenants, and lived on a fixed income since a fourth heart attack ended Joe’s 36-year career digging clams.
But without the landlord who abandoned the tenants at 77 Pleasant St., town officials said the building’s rotting wooden porch cannot be repaired, and the building’s seven tenants can no longer live in the dwelling.
“It’s a Catch-22 sort of thing,” Codes Enforcement Officer Jeffrey Hutchinson said Wednesday. “I can’t issue a building permit without the consent of the owner.”
In a notice to the absentee building owner, Hutchinson wrote that the damage to the porch eliminates one of the building’s two required exits, leaving town staff with no other option than to condemn the structure.
“It’s a clear code violation,” Hutchinson said, “to the point that [the building] can’t be occupied.”
Joe Toth, 57, said he offered to finance and make repairs to the porch in the absence of landlord Michael Gaul but was turned down.
“It’s no wonder why people go nuts,” Joe Toth said in his kitchen Wednesday afternoon. “It’s because of the red tape bull crap.”
Hutchinson estimated that a full repair of the porch could cost anywhere from $ 15,000 to $25,000 and said that there would likely be contractors in the area who would be happy to get the work. Without Gaul, however, nothing can be done. But that fact isn’t satisfying for Joe Toth, who spent Wednesday preparing to leave the apartment he and his wife have called home for four decades.
“The bottom line is that when you have somebody who is willing to fix something and make it right, you don’t wait for someone who is not coming through,” Toth said. “It would save a lot of heartache.”
The Toths and their dachshund-pug mix Lily spent Wednesday night at a Freeport motel, where the couple’s grandson booked a seven-night stay — time they will use to pack up 40 years of possessions.
Toth said that five other tenants also were evicted Wednesday, including a family of four and a single tenant upstairs.
“It’s just awful to be uprooted like this,” Jackie Toth, 69, said.
Hutchinson said Wednesday that the situation is uncommon: The rotting wood on the porch does not match the otherwise solid structure of the building, which Joe Toth said he’s been maintaining for years.
“When the pipes broke, I fixed them,” Toth said.
And in mid-2011, Toth said, he became the informal property manager when Linda Bancroft-Norden of the Portland based Aquarius Property Management handed over the building’s keys after she, too, lost contact with the building’s owner and was not being paid to manage the property.
Neither Bancroft-Norden nor owner Michael Gaul returned calls placed Wednesday.
Since the rotting porch caught town inspectors’ eyes two years ago, Hutchinson said, he has never spoken with Gaul.
“There have been situations where it is difficult to contact a landlord,” Hutchinson said. “But I can’t think of another situation like this. I just don’t understand it.”
According to town records, the building is owned by Gaul’s company, Paul-Murphy Investments LLC, with a mailing address in West Richland, Wash. Property tax payments, last made in October of last year, are up to date, according to town records, and will be due again in April.
Hutchinson said that the town can only take action on the property if there are years of unpaid taxes. As with a building at 16-18 Oak St. that was totaled but left standing after a fire last year, Hutchinson said, “the town’s hands are tied” in condemning the building.
“As long as the structure is vacated and secure — with doors and windows closed and locked — then there’s nothing else that the town can do,” Hutchinson said.
Since the Toths took over management of the property, Jackie Toth said, none of the building’s seven tenants have paid rent.
Instead of making their rent payments, Jackie Toth said, the couple has paid to keep heating oil in the building’s furnace.
With temperatures expected to dip below zero Wednesday night, Joe Toth said he was concerned about keeping the pipes from freezing.
“If the pipes burst, everything in here will be ruined,” Toth said. “All I can do is pray.”
Most everything in the apartment, Toth said, belongs to them and not the landlord.
“Even the stove and refrigerator are ours,” Toth said. “The only thing that belongs to the landlord is the carpet.”
On Wednesday, the first batch of Jackie’s belongings — including Elvis posters (lots of them) and paintings by one of her three daughters — was packed up and ready to move into a storage unit.
Hutchinson said that residents are not required to remove all of their possessions from the building, but Jackie Toth said she is concerned about burglaries at the property.
“You would think that they would want someone in here,” Jackie Toth said.
Public safety trumps property protection, Hutchinson said.
“Ultimately, our concern is that [the residents] are out,” Hutchinson said. “We’re not asking that they have all of their belongings out, they just need to stop living there.”
In a memo drafted Wednesday, Hutchinson compiled a timeline of problems with the building’s porch that began in January 2010.
Throughout that year, incremental repairs were made to the porch structure, but an assessment by engineer Peter E. Lincoln of Lincoln/ Haney Engineering Associates Inc. found that further rotting due to water damage “would only get worse with time.”
In a November 2010 letter from Lincoln to then-property manager Bancroft-Norden of Aquarius Property Management, Lincoln wrote that more extensive repairs would be needed for the building to reliably make it through another winter.
“If major repairs or, more realistically, total reconstruction are not undertaken during 2011, it is highly unlikely that I would suggest that it would be safe to allow this structure to be used through another winter,” Lincoln wrote.
Part of the wood rot problem, Hutchinson said, can be attributed to vinyl siding that was installed improperly years ago, allowing water to seep into the framing of the porch.
Temporary repairs were completed about a year ago to reinforce the porch, but those repairs were not sufficient to fix the code violation, Hutchinson said.
Packing up her bedroom into a cardboard box on Wednesday afternoon, Jackie Toth said that receiving the eviction notice has been traumatic.
“I’m not coming back here once I’m out,” Toth said. “I’ve had it.”
To see more from The Times Record, visit timesrecord.com.
I’m sorry for the predicament that the Toth’s find themselves in, but it isn’t because of “red tape bull crap.” Even though the owner has apparently abandoned the property, he is still the owner and the one with the legal rights and obligations towards the property. Who are the Toth’s paying rent to? If they are the managers, then they must be collecting rent from the other tenants, so who are they sending that rent to? Why haven’t they established an escrow account in which to deposit the rent receipts and from which to deduct the costs of the repairs? Believe it or not, even here in Mainethere really are options for renters who have to deal with negligent landloards.
The article states they are not paying rent but paying for upkeep and repairs as well as heating oil. The projected cost of the porch repair is very high and as non owners they would never be able to get financing for it.
The property taxes are fully up to date so the property is not legally considered abandoned.
Since they haven’t been paying rent and probably do not have leases they might even be considered squatters under the law and as such would have no tenants rights.
Nobody interested in this property — including the town, the tenants, interested buyers, reporters — has been able to get in touch with the owner. Rent checks and all other mail from the town were returned to the senders since Aquarius Property Management stopped taking care of the property.
Since this reporting, I heard from the manager at Aquarius who used to manage the property and she said she received a single email from the owner — Michael Gaul — in May of 2011, asking that her company stop managing the property, which Aquarius took over during prolonged divorce negotiations involving Gaul.
Since, the Toths said they have tried to pay rent and contact Mr. Gaul but have been unsuccessful and, as a result, took over paying utilities with occasional contributions from other tenants.
Has any one tried contacting his ex-wife?
Maine law allows for Tenants to make the repairs themselves and deduct it from the rent if the repairs are necessary to maintain a “warranty of habitability” which this certainly qualifies for. I would say that where Toth’s have become sort of the de-facto managers of the property, they should be able to sign for the permit in that capacity. As far as who pays for it, thats a whole other question. By the sounds of it, the other tenants are enjoying rent free living. At the end of the day, it’s a rental. Move out and go rent another apartment.
The article says that none of the other residents have paid rent since mid 2011! The Toths aren’t paying rent because they are forking out money for heating the building to keep it from freezing to protect their things. It’s nice how the other tenents have taken advantage of the situation and not given money to help (at least it does’t say they have).
Read the article…..the other tenants are paying for the oil…..which heats everyone….and living rent free like the Toths….if they took some of the rent money they didn’t pay (all of them living there) and had the porch fixed, you and I wouldn’t be reading about there whining…..If you could live rent free or not have to pay your mortgage, have your heat taken care of…..would you have more money to spend on other things….new toy….steaks instead of tuna fish…..HA! You bet RNin Maine….let’s party….
“Since the Toths took over management of the property, Jackie Toth said, none of the building’s seven tenants have paid rent.
Instead of making their rent payments, Jackie Toth said, the couple has paid to keep heating oil in the building’s furnace.”
Looks to me like the article says the Toths are paying the oil, not the other tenants.
they can’t get a building permit though, because they are not the owners of the property.
I don’t know where you read that the other tenants are paying for the oil.
‘Instead of making their rent payments, Jackie Toth said, the
couple has paid to keep heating oil in the building’s furnace.’
BDN also likes to edit their stories repetitavely so you never know what one may have originally read in an article. I don’t see half of the stuff I read in the original article.
I agree, most people here seem to be blaming the town and “red tape” when really the sole responsibilty and blame should be on the landlord. Why is it the cities fault the landlord has kept up with required repairs? I’m sorry that these people have to move after 40 years, but I have a hard time blaming the city and especially Huthinson for doing his job. Of course it sounds like the tennants are pretty much living rent free, well you get what you pay for. And with all the lawsuits these days, if these people where allowed to fix the problem there could be all sorts of issues that could leve them worse off than just having to find other place to rent.
This is disgusting Beaurocratic BS in my very humble opinion. Talk about timing Mr. Hutchinson. Why have you chosen the coldest month of the year to uproot all of these people? If I were the BDN i would check into this story further and see what they are planning on putting there. Who wants this land anyway? These nice folks have lived there for 40 years. Leave em alone. Let the man fix the porch and make it safe, or better yet, put it out to the public and I am 100 % sure that there are tons of people that would be willing to donate their time, many businesses would donate supplies. Code Enforcement is just another branch of an already incapable government, which rarely thinks about the human being and thinks clearly, only about the almighty dollar. Mr. Hutchinson you should be ashamed of yourself, as should the town of Brunswick.
AMEN< JEFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I agree 100%. Code enforcement is disgusting. People like this Hutchinson is a disgrace to anybody in code enforcement. Brunswick should be ashamed.
A big mess all around.
I agree, someone has something to gain by doing this BS, This a Totally OUT OF LINE!!! Someone in Brunswick has to grow B**** and come to the aid of these tenants… This is beyond the Chain of command, and stepping on toes,, we are talking the End of Jan, in the cold, families being made homeless Because of a rotted porch? Really?? Do you really Think the owner would object to someone repairing his apartment building? What’s the catch here, Bring in the Media, get cameras out there, find out the real reason why the code inspector is doing this….Big Wigs Pushing their positions out on the meek and humble? BS!!!
First sentence says it all right there. Has anyone called a charitable organization that deals with things like this and would be able to help.
If there was ever an opportunity for some of these apprenticeship program’s to step up and show what they can do, this is it ! This building’s repair is so simple that it’s one of those weekender project’s. All that’s needed is some Code Enforcement ‘look-see’ to be sure that the repairs are done right and everyone win’s. What’s more important is that the Code Enforcement find the building’s owner and haul his sorry butt into court to answer for letting the building fall into such disrepair that it’s become a danger to it’s tenant’s. And if Code Enforcement has any trouble, it might be a good idea to see who the building’s insurance carrier is. You can bet they know where he is.
You’re right, why do this in january? This is just inhuMAINE!
“According to town records, the building is owned by Gaul’s company, Paul-Murphy Investments LLC, with a mailing address in West Richland, Wash.”
No blame on the corporate culture, I notice.
Occupy the house.
I got it, Mr Hutchinson wants to buy the property , rehabilitate it, (maybe get some state funds to help) and make a bundle. boooo on you Hutchinson.
Forgiveness is cheaper than permission. Rebuild the porch without a building permit and continue to live in the building.
You’re right. I managed a construction company in Houston, TX for ten years-talk about red tape! The code enforcement officers very often didn’t know what they were doing, very often had their hand out, and almost always enjoyed throwing their weight around. The town is probably using this as an excuse to somehow take the property.
You hit the nail on the head…
Unfortunately, the Toth’s can’t hit the nail on the head because the town won’t let them…
Continue to live in the building they don’t own rent free, with other tentants paying the oil bill….You didn’t take any of the money you didn’t pay in rent for two years and fix the porch to start with….now others should rebuild the porch with out a building permit and they continue to live there free…..Such an honest and sincere couple who feel that they have been wronged……Why don’t we not rebuild the porch and just all donate and build them a new home and hand them the keys and than pay their fuel bill for them…..since we don’t want to inconvience them…..HA! Than you wonder why no one wants to work….pay rent….think that life should be free of worries and work…..this is the thought which has put Maine in the back seat in the past few years…..47% on some sort of welfare and don’t pay taxes and 53% like me paying taxes, having retired working hard for thirty years….The 53% or us are getting fed up with the whining of the free loaders…..I hope the Toth’s eventually find a place and get settled. I know a lot of their problems were not therre fault, but they also have to take responsiblity for the past two years of not doing anything about it and living there rent and heat free…..quite a savings….
“Since the Toths took over management of the property, Jackie Toth said, none of the building’s seven tenants have paid rent.”
“And in mid-2011, Toth said, he became the informal property manager when Linda Bancroft-Norden of the Portland based Aquarius Property Management handed over the building’s keys after she, too, lost contact with the building’s owner and was not being paid to manage the property.”
So mid-2011 to now is two years? You must be a politician.
“Instead of making their rent payments, Jackie Toth said, the couple has paid to keep heating oil in the building’s furnace.”
Yup, that certainly sounds like they are getting free oil too.
“Joe Toth, 57, said he offered to finance and make repairs to the porch in the absence of landlord Michael Gaul but was turned down.”
Oh yes, and that sounds like someone asking others to rebuild the porch.
To me it sounds like you are personally involved in this story. A long lost property owner perhaps? Or most likely just a troll hiding behind anonimity.
Just a guess here, but might you be in the 1% cause you sure as heck sound that way.
Yeah break the rules again!
This is an example of how “rules” and regulations get beyond the absurd…..evicting theses folks is not right and the town should step in to temporarily over-ride the “code violation” and keep these tenants in their home…..if the “repair job” is keeping the access open for use in the event of an emergency, then so be it…..this building’s owner needs to be “found” and held responsible….Crazy….
Heartbreaking, but not crazy. Building codes exist to make sure people have safe buildings to live in. If tenants of this building died in a fire because the exits were not up to code, I’m sure you would feel differently.
From what I see in the photo, a good dumping of wet snow and there will be no porch. This is a very bizzare situation that has come to a needed end. Absentee owner, no one paying rent, pass the hat to pay the utilities, and I am sure the list goes on. Is someone paying for insurance on the property in case of fire or the porch collapsing on a tenant? The Code Officer is just the unlucky messenger and his timing is a little late. Seems like there should have been an ultimatum last summer for the repairs with a deadline around Nov 1st to be out. Mid Jan is a tough time to be relocating but there is a huge liability here.
Agreed and well stated….
Agree. When the building collapses with people in it, the angry mob with their “BDN Comments pitchforks” will be out for the Code Enforcement officer’s and LePage’s head.
If something collapses it will be the porch.. so be it, then they will deal with it, like everyone else does.. A Bad Porch is not the end of the world….Lord some people live in shacks, and shanties its home sweet home to them, whats wrong with you people? At leat the are not HOMELESS!!!
You have no clue how I “would feel” about anything so don’t project or assume…..this is a horrible situation for these renters and by what I read the couple referred to has tried to make the best of a poor situation for some time…..this is a totally inappropriate time to evict people from their home and sounds like the issue has been ongoing for some time now so any action by the city and Code Enforcement Officer could have been forced in warmer times and not in the middle of the winter….the last resort should be to force people out of their homes….IMHO…..
Perfect example. We are so concerned about people’s safety in our law system, we lose safety.
What are the chances, Its The “Porch” here not the wiring… or is it better to find people homeless and frozen to death….You make no sense…
No they are not squatters. They have legal right to the posession/use of the property. The law allows for them to pay for the heating oil and repairs if the landlord is not making them. If it were not for the city condemning the property, they could live there forever as long as the property taxes were paid. I am not sure that the code enforcer is correct in saying that he needs to have the permission of the owner in order to issue a permit. Kind of a grey area there. I would argure that the issue of warranty of habitability and the Tenants rights under the law to make necessary repairs in the absense of the landlord doing them, trumps his requirement for the owner permission to issue a permit.
I suppose if the Toth’s has the financial ability to make the repairs, they could do so and probably place a lien on the property for the amount expended.
Update; I was wrong. There is a dollar limit on how much the tenant can expend to make the repairs. Guess they have no choice, time to move on.
My eyes couldn’t help leaking over this hearbreaking story.
And if it would have caved in a hurt someone that would have made the news also. He needs to have fixed the porch. period. All those who are crying over this why didnt you fix his porch. i am sure a dozen people knew about the issue.
Welcome to Brunswick I, would’nt live in that town if they paid me
I would contact pine tree legal as they are there to help the less fortunate shall I say. ( income plays a roll in there acceptance of cases) They should be able to rebuild it as long as they do not totally remove it and start fresh.. and not have to have a permit…. like for instance section by section with the exact same size, height, width etc. This is bull sheet I say.. best wishes to all involved, hope you all find speedy housing during these cold nasty times.. unreal!
wow, free rent? Not too shabby. Maybe if everyone that has been living rent free could pitch in some cash, this could be fixed? 7 tenants chip in $2, 000.00, that’s $14K right there. I’m not trying to be insensitive to the issue of being evicted, that sucks for sure, but, seriously, “rent free” for how long? I mean, someone MUST have saved up some cash “just in case” the rent started to be collected. The article states that the Toth’s were even paying for all the heat in the joint? Come on now, renters, it’s time to buck up here and start chipping in and repair this place that you’ve been squatting in.
I don’t understand how, in this day/age with computers etc, the law can’t find the landlord? This whole story has so many loopholes in it. “free rent”, “absent landlord”, “taxes being paid” etc.
Is it possible that the owner is dead or incapacitated and that is why he is unreachable? If he had no interest in managing the property any longer and hasn’t been receiving any rent, I would be surprised if he were not interested in selling it.
“It’s a Catch-22 sort of thing,” Codes Enforcement Officer Jeffrey Hutchinson said Wednesday. “I can’t issue a building permit without the consent of the owner”
Issue a permit grow some…
I would build a porch with out a permit anyway…
So you would like the code enforcement officer to knowingly break the law.
Do you support all criminal activities as long as the criminal believes it is justified?
Do you have a set or do as you are told all the time…
You are encouraging a public servant who has sworn to uphold the law to become a law breaker.
That is beyond dumb.
If you don’t like the law you should work to change it.
If you have nothing intelligent to add you should post personal insults about others that point that fact out.
Guess we know where you fall on that spectrum.
Is it criminal to fix a porch, just as criminal as burglarizing a business? If I want to fix a building that is mine, but can’t find the owner am I a criminal in your opinion? Seems to me that evicting people in the coldest part of the year is criminal.
Code enforcement is an interesting business in itself. Some of the code enforcement officers are just a tad full of themselves and their power to dictate what can and can’t be done and wield that power like a club. Perhaps that code enforcement officer should be tracking down the owners to get the paper work for the permit signed.
I’ve been a contractor for 39 years and never needed the homeowner to pull a permit for me….
Sometimes circumstances and reasonable judgement are more moral than following the letter of the law.
Would you break the speed limit to get your child to the hospital with a serious injury?
If my memory serves correctly this is exactly what the driver was doing (trying to get her child to hospital during an asthma attack) when she lost control of her vehicle on I-95 a few years ago and killed herself, her friend and the three or four children in the vehicle.
I’d have the owner come to Maine and repair the darn porch. As for the freeloader living there I would have had them evicted a long time ago and rent the apartments to people that pay there own way. If Linda Bancroft-Norton lost contact with the owners there might be something fishy going on. Are they sure the owner is still alive or is someone collecting money on the side. Mrs Toth should have had these people evicted, if they were the ones managing the property.
This code guy should use some decent judgment and issue the permit without consent from the owner. Even if I had to defend my actions and possibly lose my job, I’d do it because it is the right thing to do.
Great point who is going to “question” him for issuing the permit, no one.
People/Sheep KEEP allowing the government to push us around “for our own protection”
and the people in government seem rarely able to use good judgment.
I do have to ask why nobody ever just fixed the porch without asking first.
why do I think that if LePage’s/Snowe’s daughter lived in this apartment, there would be no need to get the signature of the landlord?
They said the taxes are paid up to date. This doesn’t past the smell test. I think the red tape syndrome is at work here.
There is a lot of heartache for this family. But I think many people – including the reporter – are missing a key point. Who in their right mind would choose to live in a building where the landlord can’t be found?
Those who squat there rent free maybe?
I feel bad for these people too. But, they are squatting on the property. The article states they as well as the others are not paying rent. That would mean they probably do not have leases either. It doesn’t matter that they have lived there 40 years or not. They stopped paying rent two years ago and took it upon themselves to manage the property. I would too if I was living rent free and in there position. They need to be evicted. If they cant afford thier own apartment there are fixed income places available. Thats the problem with some people today. Gimme, Gimme, Gimme, or I have rights even though I am not in this place legally.
These tenants have all had enough time to find another place to live. If they had sought legal advice the first month they stopped paying rent, I’m sure the lawyer would have advised them to do just that.
In all likihood this property has a mortgage and the taxes are being paid by that entity. In the old days, it would be a bank but the subprime market created all kinds of corporate entities to hold mortgages most of which have no property preservation services or the ability to foreclose. At some point they’ll sell the mortgage to one of the companies that have sprung up to deal with toxic real estae mortgages for pennies on the dollar just to get it out of their portfolio. Even then, one national news agency reported it was taking a full year to complete forclosures once they were started- this one could take even longer. Sounds like the “owner” buried it in a corporate name. If that corporation has ceased doing business or been suspended by the State from doing business it could be 3-4 years before the title is clear to sell it.
Interesting how many people who comment here can’t read….or have the reading comprehension of one of those clams that Mr Toth collected over the years.
Oh, they do seem to understand the “free” parts, but did not bother to read beyond that. You can’t pay rent if there is no one to pay rent to. Not to say that there shouldn’t have been some sort of understanding regarding rent payments; perhaps an escrow account of sorts. The Toth’s, for all of you who apparently dropped out of school in the third grade, have been paying for the heating oil and the up-keep of property that is not theirs. That makes them good people in anyone’s book. Sorry you didn’t have the intelligence to read said book.
Now, here is the thing that I don’t understand; the town is being paid for taxes. If money transfers are made, then there is a contact person/place where those payments originate from. Then there is the handy little thing called the internet. For $20 anyone can find anybody: get their current address, phone number, and even a 3D google map of the house and the street it sits on. It would seem to me that condemning a building would require some sort of notarized document to be duly served on the land owner. It just really seems to me that no one in Brunswick is trying very hard.
I would like to add that considering the current weather conditions and the age and health of the tenants, the city should have made arrangements to help those people move, or at the very least give them a reasonable amount of time to vacate. I would like to see one of the volunteer legal groups jump in on this problem. Oh, and everyone should keep their eye on the property to see who winds up with it in the near future.
It is all about controll … The CEO likes to show his stuff!! To hell with common sense… The repai should not require a building permit..just to maintain the tax value..will he lower the tax bill for this fault??
Looks like the landlord took the money and ran!
….
Oh come on – just fix the building – how mean and rotten can you get??!!
Follow the money. Someone wants the property and this is the easiest way to get it emptied. I wonder what the code enforcement officer got paid under the table?
Ask
johngaltline (see above) he seems to have inside information.
Believe me, you shouldn’t feel bad for these people. Yes, the reason why he’s had 4 heart attacks is because he smokes and drinks constantly (they both do). Did I mention that he’s a violent drunk?
And if you call sweeping the stairs “managing the building” then, sure, he managed it.
That place should be condemned. It was an old building that was falling apart. Not to mention it smelled like stale cigarettes and fish. Good riddance – I hope they knock it down.
God Bless America
I understand that Code enforcement must enforce the law. Without a land lord, how about going to judge and have him let Joe Toth paid for for the repairs snice he the managed.
By the way, keep record of what was spent.
I think I understood that.
Add seven more to the welfare rolls…..good job !!
I didn’t see your comment before posting about them all moving to taxpayer subsidized housing. Oh yeah that will fix everything. Dude, try not to have too much commen sense with this issue.
That’s odd. I didn’t see anything saying any of them are poor, just don’t know where to pay the rent. Of course, now they are squatting, but likely just taking advantage of the situation.
For Your Information, Manta lists the owner/slumlord as:
Paul-Murphy Investmants, LLC
935 Brown Street
Prosser, WA
99350-1201
However, a MAINE PHONE NUMBER is listed: (207) 415-1345
This number leads to a business in Gorham:
1820 Glenwood LLC
18 Glenwood Avenue
Gorham, Maine
OH LOOK, HE OWES OVER $3500.00 IN REAL ESTATE TAXES TO THE TOWN OF GORHAM:
http://www.gorham-me.org/Public_Documents/GorhamME_Finance/2010-11TaxBill/realA.pdf
Hope you find the guy.
Nice work.
ok your a humorist right? funny person? Is it any skin off yours if there not paying rent? Seems so…Have you ever been homeless? Your not willing to put money up because you don’t “OWN” it,and you don’t consider it your home, well these tenants do, and are willing, who are you to say they can’t…An elected official? RECALL!!! You sure sound like you have something to gain, or just envious..I can’t believe your so uncaring..
Yup, let them live there. I would live there instead of my car that I lived in many years ago. If everything is paid up with the taxes and utilities then what’s the problem?
Brunswick town does not care about thier people all they want is your money. Been there many times and I hate the place. The neighbors are just as mean as the town
make the tennants sign a legally binding waver that if someone gets hurt because the building falls appart around them, that the town is not responsible for any medical or other bills that the renters may occur. As long as the taxes are paid up let ’em live there. of course they could all go live in tax payer subsidized housing. Sure, that would be better.
If Bancroft-Norden or owner Michael Gaul can’t or won’t respond to calls and haven’t made any attempt to make the repairs, the town should notify them in writing, give them a deadline and if it is not met take the property and turn it over to Joe and Jackie Toth if they agree to make the repairs and let them stay!
Michael Gaul should be ashamed of himself, as well as the town of Brunswick…
I pray for you both Joe & Jackie
I say the house should be given to the Toths, after all they were the ones putting work into it for the past years. Then get some donations for materials and a group of volunteers together to make the necessary repairs and let these people live there rent free for as long as they like to. Seems the landlord doesn’t care about the property any more so probably wouldn’t care if it were to be taken from him by due process.
Should have just fixed the porch without the permit.
they cannot issue a building permit without the owner’s permission. Hah! just go ahead fix the porch without a permit,lots of things are done that way. Who are they going to fine? the owner and he cannot be found anyway.
Requiring safe egress for all tenants shouldn’t be up for debate. The fact is that the Town Of Brunswick would be liable for any injuries if they allow an egregious hazard to persist such as an unsafe porch and/or stairs. I’ll bet this was only one of a list on violations that without an owner taking responsibility will go uncorrected for longer. What’s despicable is saying such remarks against a man for doing the job the community is paying him to do, following the rules and laws they adopted and those the State and Federal government requires a code official to enforce.
I’m pretty sure that the Town of Brunswick has never been sued nor could be sued for someone falling because of a rotten porch that they chose to live in. They stayed, because it was really cheap for them and they want to continue to stay.
Not one comment in 97 comments say ” Hey brother, we want to help you rebuild your porch.
How can we get in touch with you”
the christian judeo tradition is alive and well in Maine, eh?
I’d be willing to donate labor…A lumber company would be well served to donate the materials write it off on their taxes and use it in their tv commercials….Cmon folks this is awful…Someone needs to help them….Peace
Let’s make it happen.
Who will contact the lumber company and set up a central contact for all of us to call in?
And does that include you?
The way I read the article is that the town will not issue a permit for the porch rebuild unless the owner signs it. hence no point in volunteering if the town would just declare it an illegal project.
any ideas?
I’ve noticed that as well, I honestly thought that would be one of the first comments on here .
Does the town not have computers or not know how to use them. If the taxes are up to date in October than the mailing address to send the bill had to still be in forwarding status at this time, if the person has moved. It took me about 60 seconds doing a search to come up with the correct address for both Mr. Gaul and the company in Washington State, complete with phone numbers. This isn’t brain surgery people. I agree with the posters that say this is certainly not a good time of year to evict these people.
This is a perfect example of why code enforcement makes enemies outta themselves.
It’s not about a permit. It’s about an uncollectable fee I guess.
The town is using the porch as an excuse to clean up a property that is causing problems to them. I would be very surprised if it is entirely because of the porch. Too bad the Toths are being displaced by this, but no doubt they will be better off in better housing.
What ever happened to the State of Maine?
Charlie Summers hunting aliens whom he claims are voting without birth certificates, and Le Page threatening to close schools if he doesn’t get his way?
Now – a rotting porch gets a family kicked out in the streets?
This alleged government is attempting to gain total control of the state and its people.
We may be short a few bucks in that lousy budget, but we’ve lost more than money can buy. We’re losing our state.
It’s really kinda nice to see a couple that got together at 17 and 29 still together after 40 years.
wow.. and if there was a fire, which isn’t all that unlikely in an un-maintained building, and tenants died.. you’d be calling for Mr. Hutchinson’s hide and Brunswick would be sued for millions. These folks knew they were in a marginal situation. Most of them haven’t been paying rent. What’s with the entitlement mentality?
ann
I live in Tacoma Wa. I found the Paul-Anderson Investments LLC it is located in Prosser Wa. The Michael Gaul is listed as the 1 employee of this co. yet he gives a Maine Phone Number. According to their Business info they are a company that is in real estate and trust investments and are worth $100,000.00 as a co. Sound good? who knows . I feel sorry for the tenants.
Hmmm. Evict them then since the owner is a no show seems likly the town will eventually acquire this abandoned property.
Wasn’t Brunswick in the news about other shady land deals.
Dirty Dealings whatever the motives.
A petition could take care of the code inforcement office. As times get toughter these codes have just got to disappear so people can survive. This rule is just plain stupid and way beyond common sense.
$15K-$25K to replace a porch? Hogwash! Call a talented handyman (not a scam contractor) and get the work done for a LOT less!! A talented fellow we know over on Hancock Street built out an entire 1,000 square foot attic, complete with beautiful Pergo floors, for far less than that. Turned it into an amazing office. Let me know if you want his name.
Oh good Brunswick officials
“It’s a clear code violation,” Hutchinson said, “to the point that [the building] can’t be occupied.” , you guys are really good people: Bunch of bureaucrats throwing people out instead of throwing out the porch. Sickening.
Brunswick, Me. the town that promotes homelessness.
This situation is indeed both ridiculous and tragic. Why would a town feel the need to evict an elderly couple in the middle of winter?
But I have to wonder if some of the commenters complaining that the town is overstepping its bounds by evicting the tenants would also think the town were overstepping bounds if it allowed the tenants to control someone else’s property. Whatever the town government does will be viewed as wrong by somebody.
I cant’t believe people are blaming code enforcement for doing his job. I feel for these people and know its not their fault but he has a job to do for safety reasons. I have been fighting my town because of mutible code violations from my neighbors right down to a faulty septic where there is raw sewerage seeping all over the ground that is less then 100 feet from my well the water we have to drink. I have contacted my town office mutible times and all I get is excuses, I have also contacted the state to no avail. So all I can say is thank god they even have a code officer that does his job!!!!!!!!
….
Occupy the house.
If it caught their eye two years ago, don’t wait until the middle of a Maine winter to evict everyone, a few more months isn’t going to hurt anyone geesh. This would be a great apprentice project, like someone else has mentioned, for a local tech school project, and/or a community improvement project. I know it seems like Maine provides assistance to “everyone”, but in reality if they would provide assistance when someone needs just a little help, it could prevent someone from needing a lot of help later! So (hypothetically) if these folks now need housing, food stamps and other emergency assistance, it will cost taxpayers more than if some program was able through charity or just simply finding funding through private donations/volunteers, to fix this stupid porch!! I felt the same way when I worked at a social service agency, the state was completely willing to just pull a kiddo out of a biological home (abuse cases excluded) plunked down in a foster home, not only were the foster parents being paid very well (i know that has changed a little now and they don’t get paid as much as they used to) ANNNNNNND the foster home would be given 20 or 30 hours of support services per week for the child. With a school age child, that doesn’t leave to0 many hours left in the home. If those biological parents were given that many hours of parental support in the home to help, the child probably could have stayed in the home, saving the taxpayer tons of money and keeping keeping a family unit together. It just always seems like an all or nothing approach to everything. Just like Maine care….either you qualify or you dont. Back when I was a single mother, I received Maine Care for my son, I had insurance for myself but to add my child it would have been $800 a month (and that was ten years ago), if I had to pay that I couldn’t have afforded rent, so I qualified for Maine Care. HOWEVER, I could have afforded $100 or $200 a month to pay for Maine Care, but, no, it’s all or nothing. If there was more of a tiered system for services we could save a lot of money and still provide services for those who need it. Someone might not be able to pay $1000 a month for health insurance, but they could afford to pay $300 a month for their Maine Care…… I digress (not the first time today) , but why is everything black and white, all or nothing???? I can think of a lot more examples but those are the most financially impacting ones I could think of:)
People are completely losing sight of what is going on here because people on their own decisions have placed themselves in this position. People have commented about taking the property from the owner and giving it to the Toths, ( I wouldn’t want the government to take my house); gathering the materials and repairing the porch for free (with no required permits, or owners permission); that the city should violate it’s own ordinances and let them stay (so we should only enforce laws that we agree with). The Toths and the other tenants have chosen to stay in an apartment complex illegally after knowing their payments weren’t being accepted by the owner. They should have started looking for another place as soon as the problem arose. Seems like they stayed there simply because it was free. Now we all know that the owner is neglectful, and the property management should never have turned over all the keys to the Toths (They did something wrong here to) Instead of volunteers to fix the porch are there any other property owner that have vacancies that want to step forward and let the tenants move there? That would be better then wrongfully taking someone elses property or fixing it without their permission and against city ordinances.
It’s a sad situation, but this is an opportunity for the Toth’s to move into a nice elderly low-income apartment complex. They need to get out of that situation of the absentee slum lord, their lives will be much better and they will be happier and less stressed. Perhaps the city of Brunswick can fast-track an application and get them settled. I wish them luck in this difficult time.
Hello i just wanted everyone to know i spoke with the owner and he has agreed to give me the house! but here is the thing the home has a mortgage on it, I am trying to talk to the mortgage company on Monday to see if i can step in, if i can i may need some help with funds to pay any back dues, please stay tuned to this thread as we may need your help!
No surprise here! I had to deal with the code enforcements officers several years ago who where testing my water because they felt the horses were too close to the well. They took seven samples seven times and still didn’t get a poor result. After the 3rd-4th time I had to watch to make sure they weren’t going to pee in my well! What a waste of time and money for the City of Brunswick.