Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Paying Bashir's Property a Visit

From here, one can see both the building permit posted AND the alleged notice that no work is currently permitted, which according to neighbors was improperly removed.
Does it really take over three years to install sheetrock and insulation?
Photo by the Irving Inquisition.  Windows open to the elements abounded at this house.
Post and photos by the Hawthorne Hawkman, except where noted otherwise.

Here's a great example of how the NoMi Justice League works together.  Johnny Northside posted an item revealing a neglected Bashir Moghul property all the way out in Inver Grove Heights.  Then on Labor Day, the Hawthorne Hawkman sent Irving Inquisition a top-secret message, indecipherable without the proper cryptography equipment:  22-9-19-9-20 2-1-19-8-9-18-19 16-18-15-16-5-18-20-25.  The I.I. busted out his secret decoder ring and quickly understood the mission at hand.  We were off to see Bashir's Inver Grove Heights property for ourselves.

It was a perfect day for a slummy expedition.  We both had the day off, and the overcast skies were sure to add to the dreary mood - much like how one should only listen to The Cure or watch "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?" when it's miserable outside.  So we expected to find a substandard property.  What we DIDN'T expect though, was...

...to run into one of the neighbors, who gave us some more interesting details about their experience with Bashir Moghul.  First, a few more photos:


Something just isn't right about the deck.  Also, this is apparently where lawn mowers go to die.
Here's another angle on that deck.  Above photo by the Irving Inquisition.  Two photos below of gutter conditions taken by the Hawthorne Hawkman.

Apparently, this property has been vacant since 1996. It's unknown how long Moghul has been the owner. Litter is frequently strewn throughout the yard. The roof sags because he didn't put the joists close enough together. As documented above, Moghul appears to vacillate between avoiding the work he's doing and completing other things that are done without proper permits. He even reportedly drops off (people presumed to be illegal immigrants) day laborers to do unpermitted work at the house.

All of this wouldn't be so bad if the end result were a house the rest of the community could be a part of. Instead, neglect and abuse have brought this house to the point where many neighbors want it demolished - a rarity in IGH. This particular area didn't have the mini mansions we associate with 2nd and 3rd-tier suburbs. It's a working-class (albeit upper) area with some homes that don't look so hot, but neither I.I. nor I saw vacant houses on our way in and out of the neighborhood.

It's already been pointed out, but Moghul is several years' behind on property taxes here (just like in Wisconsin!)

Congratulations, Bashir Moghul - you have just been named the first inductee into the NXNS wall of shame.

3 comments:

  1. And then there was all the garbage in the yard. It was nasty. Considering how they like to keep their lawns in pristine condition out in the burbs, seeing beer and soda bottles all over the place really stuck out. Yet it was such a typical slumlord property.

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  2. So I guess this goes back to that trespassing argument again. You were on the property without permission of the owner, and had no legitimate business there, except to see the property for yourself and take pictures.

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  3. Listen up, anon 5:39/JHG because I'm only going to say this once, and then the supposed trespassing argument won't get played out here.

    First off, there are nifty things called zoom, cropping and enlarging. I may or may not have been on the property at all.

    Second, here is the Minnesota statute for trespassing. I did not cross the threshold, the property owner did not display "No Trespassing" signs, nor did he inform me to leave, nor was there another occupant or worker or authority figure present telling me to leave the premises. If I happened to be ON the property at all, AND one of these things ALSO happened, AND I refused to leave, THEN we're talking about trespassing.

    As far as I can tell, Inver Grove Heights doesn't even have a Minneapolis-style lurking ordinance. Which, for the record, I'm not too worried about.

    Nice try though.

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