Why are Furnaces Stolen in Detroit and What to D0 About It
/It is true what you have heard. If a house is left vacant in Detroit, you can count on the furnace and the hot water heater being immediately stolen from the house.
Why?
Scrap Metal
Possibly for the scrap metal. But after talking with a scrap metal yard, I find it very hard to believe. For a typical Detroit house furnace, the return is only around $12. Owners are to report the stolen furnace serial number to the scrap metal yards and the scrap metal people said they will contact us if our stolen furnace and hot water heater show up. We’ve actually never tried this because we only just learned about it and our furnaces do not get stolen that much anyway.
Just Want a New Furnace
More likely we believe it could be someone getting an upgraded furnace for someone else they know. Furnaces aren’t cheap and it gets really cold here for several months of the year.
To Sell on Facebook Marketplace
We do know that the furnace thieves are selling them on Facebook Marketplace. We have always wanted to bust someone for it, but we doubt the police would be interested in assisting us in the sting. We just focus on moving forward, luckily for the thieves.
What to do?
Remove the Furnace and Hot Water Heater
One of the more common methods is to remove the furnace and hot water heater during the renovation and time between tenants. We do not like this method. It’s hard to paint cold cracking walls. It’s hard to work in the cold. Heat is required to install carpeting and refinish the hardwood properly. And it’s impossible to clean a whole house well with cold water.
Board the House
A cheaper method is to board up the house. But thieves break through boards pretty easily. And no natural light while doing the turnover or renovating a house is pretty brutal. It’s also hard to list a house for rent with boards on the windows.
Door and Window Security Guards
Another common method is to use a system such as DAWGS doors. The DAWGS company puts huge metal covers over windows and doors. We prefer this to no furnace, but there are other problems with this too. The light in the house isn’t as good for the renovation without natural light. It’s hard to work on windows and doors with the covers there. We usually replace the doors and with the DAWGS doors on, the actual door is removed, which leaves the house exposed to the cold, defeating the point of keeping the furnace on. They are more expensive than our solution. The doors with the code are tedious to get in and out of. A thief could break in anyway but it usually will deter them. It’s also a big sign that the house is vacant and there must be something good in there. Recently we had a house we were checking out with DAWGS doors where the basement window cover was ripped right off and the glass block smashed out to gain entry.
Housesitters
Our solution is Housesitters. Over the years we have acquired a few good ones. We’ve been through a few bad ones too who may have stolen a furnace or two. We’re not sure. Sometimes furnaces get stolen when the housesitter runs to the store. There just is no perfect solution.
How We Found Them
We initially found them by posting an ad on Craigslist for a gig. My phone BLEW UP with applicants. I was mostly interested why they would want to stay in a house under renovation and when it was time to leave if they had somewhere to go so we wouldn’t have to evict them, if it came to that.
Housesitter Story
We’ve only had one who wouldn’t leave. And he turned into a hoarder. So Pat, my husband, got a dumpster and a few guys and removed his stuff. The housesitter called the police. Pat knew he’d have a good two hours before the police arrived, so Pat and his guys emptied the house of the man’s belongings. When the police arrived, Pat was able to reason with them. Pat is a genius at tough negotiations. His dad was a judge so I’m pretty sure it runs in his family. Pat dropped off the ex-housesitter and all his belongings at the housesitter’s cousin’s house. She was furious when she saw all the stuff!
But the housesitters we have now are excellent. Each has a different story for why they appreciate housesitting. Most of them are really clean too. And they all love Pat. I think that is an important factor in why we have such good ones. It’s been a long time since we’ve had a furnace stolen.
This housessitter is OCD-level clean and he is getting his degree in business online.
Please let me know if you have any questions. Emailing me works the best. Monique@GreatDayPM.com.