Casa de Bad Karma...

[SanJoaquinSooner]

The house across the street from us. It’s got all kinds of bad karma.


Bad Karma, Part I: Sok it to me, baby.

Back in the 90's the Sok family moved into this brand new house the same time we moved into ours…. Husband and wife with 3 kids. The couple was originally from Cambodia with the kids born here in California. The husband was a physician who worked at the county hospital, while the wife was a stay-at-home mom. It was the golden years of the Clinton Presidency.

I never really became well acquainted with Dr. Sok – just small chat at the mailbox or at the curb doing lawn work. He seemed to live a mundane life of working lots of hours and spending his free time in the garage either on his treadmill or playing table tennis with his kids, when he wasn’t doing yard work. He was a really nice, very quiet, unassuming dutiful kind of guy.

And then ….. wham! Dr. Sok disappears, seemingly, off the face of the earth.

But Mrs. Sok eventually finds out that he has returned to Cambodia to be with another woman – the love of his life, he says. He claims that he was forced into his marriage by gunpoint - - they were paired by Pol Pot's ruthless Khmer Rouge regime and married alongside 100 other couples. He was never coming back to see his wife and kids again.

But the real punch-in-the-gut was he took all the family savings and had recently taken out the largest possible home equity loan (this was before the bubble burst on home values in California) and took all that money with him, as well.

So, Mrs. Sok, with two kids in high school and a third who had just been admitted to UC Davis was left high and dry with no income, no savings, no job skills, a mortgage and a home equity loan payment.

Mrs. Sok and her kids could not afford the mortgage and home equity loan payment so they had to sell the house quickly at a bargain sale price, and move into a little apartment. The daughter’s plans to attend UC Davis bit the dust. Mrs. Sok became a housekeeper earning $8.50/hour.

His kids were all pretty good kids from what I could tell and his wife was a very attractive woman … she had not let herself go after 3 kids and twenty-something years of marriage.

That he did this just blew me away….

Postscript: A couple of years later the issue is dealt with in superior court. Mrs. Sok is trying to get alimony and child support. Mr. Sok’s attorney argues that the marriage never existed. The Khmer Rouge regime of brutal dictator Pol Pot was later overthrown, and couples had three years beginning in 2002 to register their marriages with the new government, which Soks never did. They had moved to the United States in 1980.

The good news is that the court ruled in favor of Mrs. Sok. In California, marriages can be dissolved if one person was forced into it. The catch is that, by law, you have four years from the date of the marriage to challenge it. She was awarded $250,000. While it would be difficult to collect from Dr. Sok as a Cambodian resident, the court latched onto all of his U.S. retirement funds which were enough to make good on the award.

[AlbqSooner]

I love happy endings - especially from cambodian wimmens.

[Frozen Sooner]

The house across the street from us. It’s got all kinds of bad karma.


Bad Karma, Part I: Sok it to me, baby.

Back in the 90's the Sok family moved into this brand new house the same time we moved into ours…. Husband and wife with 3 kids. The couple was originally from Cambodia with the kids born here in California. The husband was a physician who worked at the county hospital, while the wife was a stay-at-home mom. It was the golden years of the Clinton Presidency.

I never really became well acquainted with Dr. Sok – just small chat at the mailbox or at the curb doing lawn work. He seemed to live a mundane life of working lots of hours and spending his free time in the garage either on his treadmill or playing table tennis with his kids, when he wasn’t doing yard work. He was a really nice, very quiet, unassuming dutiful kind of guy.

And then ….. wham! Dr. Sok disappears, seemingly, off the face of the earth.

But Mrs. Sok eventually finds out that he has returned to Cambodia to be with another woman – the love of his life, he says. He claims that he was forced into his marriage by gunpoint - - they were paired by Pol Pot's ruthless Khmer Rouge regime and married alongside 100 other couples. He was never coming back to see his wife and kids again.

But the real punch-in-the-gut was he took all the family savings and had recently taken out the largest possible home equity loan (this was before the bubble burst on home values in California) and took all that money with him, as well.

So, Mrs. Sok, with two kids in high school and a third who had just been admitted to UC Davis was left high and dry with no income, no savings, no job skills, a mortgage and a home equity loan payment.

Mrs. Sok and her kids could not afford the mortgage and home equity loan payment so they had to sell the house quickly at a bargain sale price, and move into a little apartment. The daughter’s plans to attend UC Davis bit the dust. Mrs. Sok became a housekeeper earning $8.50/hour.

His kids were all pretty good kids from what I could tell and his wife was a very attractive woman … she had not let herself go after 3 kids and twenty-something years of marriage.

That he did this just blew me away….

Postscript: A couple of years later the issue is dealt with in superior court. Mrs. Sok is trying to get alimony and child support. Mr. Sok’s attorney argues that the marriage never existed. The Khmer Rouge regime of brutal dictator Pol Pot was later overthrown, and couples had three years beginning in 2002 to register their marriages with the new government, which Soks never did. They had moved to the United States in 1980.

The good news is that the court ruled in favor of Mrs. Sok. In California, marriages can be dissolved if one person was forced into it. The catch is that, by law, you have four years from the date of the marriage to challenge it. She was awarded $250,000. While it would be difficult to collect from Dr. Sok as a Cambodian resident, the court latched onto all of his U.S. retirement funds which were enough to make good on the award.

She shoulda seen a good lawyer. She likely had an undivided interest in the property as a joint tenant. If she didn't sign the security agreement on the home equity line of credit, then her interest in the property would not be subject to it.

Edit: Though that's only the majority rule. Minority rule is that the joint tenancy would be destroyed by the mortgage and only her remaining half-interest would be free of the second mortgage. AL follows the minority rule, don't know about CA.

[SanJoaquinSooner]

She shoulda seen a good lawyer. She likely had an undivided interest in the property as a joint tenant. If she didn't sign the security agreement on the home equity line of credit, then her interest in the property would not be subject to it.

Edit: Though that's only the majority rule. Minority rule is that the joint tenancy would be destroyed by the mortgage and only her remaining half-interest would be free of the second mortgage. AL follows the minority rule, don't know about CA.

On the home equity loan, I suspect Dr. Sok simply said "we need to sign some papers at the bank," and she did so without questioning it. Until he actually left, I don't think she had any reason to suspect he was going to jump ship.

[Frozen Sooner]

Ah. Well, then, that changes things.

[SoonerStormchaser]

so where's part II?

[RacerX]

so where's part II?

Exactly

[OUHOMER]

PART II.
Who do think is paying her $8.50 an hour for housekeeping?

[olevetonahill]

so where's part II?

Thats the part where his Illegal In-Laws have moved in :P

[SanJoaquinSooner]

so where's part II?

Trilogies aren't written in a day, you know. Part II is in my head and I'll get it written soon. With pictures.

[SanJoaquinSooner]

PART II.
Who do think is paying her $8.50 an hour for housekeeping?

Not sure, what do companies like Merrymaids pay their maids? Probably not much more than minimum wage.

[SanJoaquinSooner]

Thats the part where his Illegal In-Laws have moved in :P

No, Part II involves who moved in though, and the bad karma continues.

[SanJoaquinSooner]

BAD KARMA PART II

Mrs. Sok had to sell the house well below market value to get out in a hurry.

She sold it to the Youngs, an African American family with a husband, wife, teenaged son, and an elderly parent. The wife is a nurse and the husband was “retired” but never said from what. He looked like a retired NFL defensive tackle but I don’t think he was. Just built like one.

In their first full summer in the house, they did a complete overhaul of the landscaping – both front and back yards. The Soks had laid concrete in the back yard for a mini-basketball court, but the Youngs had all the concrete blasted and dug up and thrown in a construction-sized dumpster that set in front of their house all summer. The father made the teenaged son do all the concrete hauling as far as I saw and a lot of the work in installing the new lawn. He worked the kid pretty hard in the hot summer sun. They also gave the outside of the house a new paint job.

http://i995.photobucket.com/albums/af80/sanjoaquinsooner/casadebadkarma2-1.jpg

In addition they did lots of work inside the house, although I never went in to see it.

Within the next year or so, I began noticing that they weren’t around very much. They seemed to show up once a week or so, to mow the lawn, etc., but it became clear they weren’t there on a regular basis.

Another neighbor explained to me that the Youngs were battling the city over code violations. Apparently some of the electrical work they had done inside the house violated city code. As a result, the city laid down the law and said the house could not be occupied. The city shut down the gas and electric service to the house to enforce this! Here's a pic showing that the gas and electric meters have been removed.


http://i995.photobucket.com/albums/af80/sanjoaquinsooner/casadebadkarma-1.jpg

The house has been unoccupied for nearly three years now. The husband, wife, and the elderly parent moved to Fresno, but would show up about once a week to do the yard work. However, they no longer do the yard work, they snagged my gardener, Gustavo, and asked him to do it. So Gustavo does their lawn the same day he does mine, and they mail him a check to cover it.

In a casual drive-by, one would never guess the house has been unoccupied for 3 years, with the yard work done every week.

I can’t understand the financial angle in this. They have to pay property tax and association fees in addition to Gustavo's lawn maintenance fees. It seems like it would be much cheaper to fix the electrical code violations and either sell the house or move back in. The only thing I can think of is maybe the Youngs are suing the city over wrongful eviction or something.
http://i995.photobucket.com/albums/af80/sanjoaquinsooner/casadebadkarma3.jpg

PART III, coming soon...

[stevo]

i think it's awesome that you have a lawn guy named Gustavo.

[jumperstop]

I'm shopping for homes and most of the foreclosures I see I have the gas and the electrical removed. That might explain something. Maybe they're still in pre foreclosure.

[soonerchk]

i think it's awesome that you have a lawn guy named Gustavo.

It almost sounds like he could be a butler.

[SanJoaquinSooner]

i think it's awesome that you have a lawn guy named Gustavo.

Stevo, if you still haven't been to San Francisco, you should take a road trip with olevet when he comes out. A Stevo and Olevet roadtrip might make a story Hollywood would be willing to purchase.

[stevo]

only if he'll let me drive!

[SanJoaquinSooner]

I'm shopping for homes and most of the foreclosures I see I have the gas and the electrical removed. That might explain something. Maybe they're still in pre foreclosure.

But for three years? In the foreclosures I've seen around town, the families pack up and leave never to be seen again - and usually the bank puts a "for sale" sign up at some point.

[SanJoaquinSooner]

It almost sounds like he could be a butler.

Butler. I always think of Anthony Hopkins in Remains of the Day.

[olevetonahill]

Stevo, if you still haven't been to San Francisco, you should take a road trip with olevet when he comes out. A Stevo and Olevet roadtrip might make a story Hollywood would be willing to purchase.


only if he'll let me drive!

Got no prob with you being the DD:cool:

[StoopTroup]

A friend of mine lived in SF for 5 years. He told me the Women there are so sex starved that they are all willing to share you. Once they find out you are from the Bible Belt and were only with your HS Sweetheart 15 years before she got fat, filed for Divorce and found out she doesn't get your entire Paycheck to live on....they begin setting up booty calls and he needed to see a Dr. for Viagra.

The Downside was to be able to afford to live there he had to commute 2 hours each way everyday and live North of Frisco. He later moved to Everett Washington (1 Year) and then back to LA (6 months) and after the work moved again...he found a job in Washington D.C. as a Consultant. Not sure how the Booty falls off the Cherry Tree there. :D

[SanJoaquinSooner]

A friend of mine lived in SF for 5 years. He told me the Women there are so sex starved that they are all willing to share you. Once they find out you are from the Bible Belt and were only with your HS Sweetheart 15 years before she got fat, filed for Divorce and found out she doesn't get your entire Paycheck to live on....they begin setting up booty calls and he needed to see a Dr. for Viagra.

The Downside was to be able to afford to live there he had to commute 2 hours each way everyday and live North of Frisco. He later moved to Everett Washington (1 Year) and then back to LA (6 months) and after the work moved again...he found a job in Washington D.C. as a Consultant. Not sure how the Booty falls off the Cherry Tree there. :D

I've heard D.C. is one of the best cities for such things.

You got to make big bucks to live close to your job in San Francisco, if you want a decent place to live. Several people in my neighborhood, here in the San Joaquin Valley, do a 90 minute commute each way to the Bay Area or Silicon Valley. I couldn't take that for long.

[Chuck Bao]

I can't believe that I missed this thread before. I guess I was in the US at the time it was first posted.

I imagine that the Cambodian wife laid some pretty serious voodoo magic on the place which explains the bad karma. Throughout Asia, Cambodia is known for some pretty serious voodoo magic. I have seen where they performed some of their rituals and, honestly speaking, it scares the pants off me.

This is a very short news article about Thai army troops wanting talismans to protect themselves from Cambodian black magic in the recent standoff at the Thai-Cambodian border near the ancient Khao Pra Vihear Khmer temple complex.

http://asiapacific.anu.edu.au/newmandala/2011/02/14/khmer-voodoo-at-the-frontlines/

Back on point, SanJoaquinSooner did you ever see any black chickens sacrificed out in their yard? Did you see evidence of blood spilled on the ground under a tree? Did the abandoned wife ever go outside naked to perform some ritual in the yard at midnight? Did you ever see where candles had burnt out under the trees?

I think that Cambodian voodoo can trace back to ancient animist beliefs that are still prevalent today.

Did the Cambodians ever build a spirit house? It would look like a bird house on a two-foot pedestal. And they may have tiny human representations both inside and outside the spirit house.

If you talk to the Young family, I would suggest hiring a Buddhist monk to bless the house and tie string around inside to keep the bad spirits out. Also, the monk needs to cleanse the yard. If there was a spirit house and it was destroyed, then they need a new one because those spirits are going to be pretty upset.


only if he'll let me drive!

Sounds like a type of trip that I would love and I will let you drive the whole way. But, you gotta understand that I could bail at San Francisco and I would be too way too scared to visit SanJoaquinSooner's neighborhood until they fix that bad karma thing.

[SanJoaquinSooner]

I can't believe that I missed this thread before. I guess I was in the US at the time it was first posted.

I imagine that the Cambodian wife laid some pretty serious voodoo magic on the place which explains the bad karma. Throughout Asia, Cambodia is known for some pretty serious voodoo magic. I have seen where they performed some of their rituals and, honestly speaking, it scares the pants off me.

This is a very short news article about Thai army troops wanting talismans to protect themselves from Cambodian black magic in the recent standoff at the Thai-Cambodian border near the ancient Khao Pra Vihear Khmer temple complex.

http://asiapacific.anu.edu.au/newmandala/2011/02/14/khmer-voodoo-at-the-frontlines/

Back on point, SanJoaquinSooner did you ever see any black chickens sacrificed out in their yard? Did you see evidence of blood spilled on the ground under a tree? Did the abandoned wife ever go outside naked to perform some ritual in the yard at midnight? Did you ever see where candles had burnt out under the trees?

I think that Cambodian voodoo can trace back to ancient animist beliefs that are still prevalent today.

Did the Cambodians ever build a spirit house? It would look like a bird house on a two-foot pedestal. And they may have tiny human representations both inside and outside the spirit house.

If you talk to the Young family, I would suggest hiring a Buddhist monk to bless the house and tie string around inside to keep the bad spirits out. Also, the monk needs to cleanse the yard. If there was a spirit house and it was destroyed, then they need a new one because those spirits are going to be pretty upset.



Chuck,

the only time I saw anything cermonial in nature was when they had about 50 people over for some event all dressed up -either in Cambodian ceremonial clothing or coat-and-tie western clothing. They all lined up in the street in front of our houses and appeared to simulate a pilgrimage - kinda like Mexican Catholics do with Our Lady of Guadalupe each Dec 12. Not sure if it was a Buddhist ceremony, but they had something the leader of the parade was carrying as they marched down the street.

No sign of black magic ceremonies though.



Sounds like a type of trip that I would love and I will let you drive the whole way. But, you gotta understand that I could bail at San Francisco and I would be too way too scared to visit SanJoaquinSooner's neighborhood until they fix that bad karma thing

Olevet, Stevo, and Chuck on a roadtrip to San Francisco. Sounding more and more interesting! Gotta agree to let Olevet stop to see the Grand Canyon.

[Chuck Bao]

Chuck,

the only time I saw anything cermonial in nature was when they had about 50 people over for some event all dressed up -either in Cambodian ceremonial clothing or coat-and-tie western clothing. They all lined up in the street in front of our houses and appeared to simulate a pilgrimage - kinda like Mexican Catholics do with Our Lady of Guadalupe each Dec 12. Not sure if it was a Buddist ceremony, but they had something the leader of the parade was carrying as they marched down the street.

No sign of black magic ceremonies though.

Olevet, Stevo, and Chuck on a roadtrip to San Francisco. Sounding more and more interesting! Gotta agree to let Olevet stop to see the Grand Canyon.

I have no idea about what you described. I would assume that if the leader were a Buddhist monk that he would be wearing saffron-colored robes with shaved head and you would probably have noticed that. Do you have any nearby Buddhist temples? And, I don't mean Japanese Zen Buddhists or Chinese Buddhist/Taoists, but the Theravada school of Buddhism.

If the father and mother were married in Cambodia during the murderous Khmer Rouge regime maybe they learned sort of a DIY type of thing after the monks had all been killed. Did they march down the street and then around the house 3 times?

You really do have some bad mojo in your neighborhood. I suggest that you and your neighbors fix it.

On the road trip idea, yeah we would have to stop and let Olevet pee off the side of the Grand Canyon.

[yermom]

when is this road trip?

i need a ride out there sometime this month :D

[StoopTroup]

I gotta pea

[olevetonahill]

when is this road trip?

i need a ride out there sometime this month :D

Well , I were thinkin about rentin a car and just meandering west for about a month. Now If Stevo and Chuck gonna be doing the driving , Guess Ill be doing a lot of drankin and peeing on the sights :D

[KantoSooner]

Chuck, Chuck, Chuck, you've been thinking romantically too long! The Khmer wife won't do any voodoo. She'll contact her cousin in the Cambodian Army, send him $1,000 and Ex-Hubby will be conked on the head, curled up nice and cozy inside a poly-drum of hydrochloric acid and buried in the jungle. I'd be surprised if he isn't there already.

[Sooner Tri]

This has been a great series. You mentioned it being a trilogy, so can we expect a Pt. III?? That is a beautiful house too. You live in a nice neighborhood!

[SanJoaquinSooner]

This has been a great series. You mentioned it being a trilogy, so can we expect a Pt. III?? That is a beautiful house too. You live in a nice neighborhood!

Yes, Part III is coming soon. There's more to the story of what is happening at this house.

[Memtig14]

I'm on pins and needles.

[GDC]

Are we there yet?

[The]

You seem to live in a highly ethnic neighborhood.

[NormanPride]

-KTsXHXMkJA

[Oldnslo]

III?

[SanJoaquinSooner]

III?

It's in my head. I just need to type it.

[OU4LIFE]

just scoop it out with a spoon.

[ouduckhunter]

I am digging this story too!! Can't wait for the next installment!

[SanJoaquinSooner]

Ok, so here's what I've found out this past year:

The old lady they were taking care of is somebody's great aunt. Some social worker periodically visited to check up on her. The social worker noticed the exposed electrical wiring and notified the authorities. The city notified the home owners of code violations and threatened to take action if the code violations were not corrected. For reasons beyond my comprehension, the home owners don't fix things, so the city shuts off the electricity and the gas (see pics above).

Now, the husband has some kind of legal background and believes the city did not follow proper legal protocol, so he sues the city. The past four years has been an ongoing legal battle. The city offered to settle, but the homeowners balked at the terms of the settlement, apparently wanting more.

So, last week I go over there to pick up old flyers left in the driveway and I find this notice on the ground:

http://i995.photobucket.com/albums/af80/sanjoaquinsooner/waternotice_zpsde33ec65.jpg

Then I glance over at the lawn and notice how it's starting to dry out. They've always had such a green and lush landscaping. The homeowners hired my lawn guy, Gustavo, to mow their lawn every week. Gustavo told me they send him a check every month. The lawn has been watered by the sprinkler system on its back-up battery for the last four years.

Late last night I strung my hoses together to water the lawn. Did this last week too. But I think I'll report it to the homeowners association - so they know the water was shut off. The HOA are East Germans in uniforms when it comes to enforcing rules, but I don't know what legal action they can take. It would be sad to see the lush landscaping become an eyesore.


One of these days I need to add the story about the son. More bad. Part III.

[MamaMia]

Seems like when it rains, it pours. It was nice of you to water the lawn for them. I hope things all work out in the end for everybody.

[SanJoaquinSooner]

http://i995.photobucket.com/albums/af80/sanjoaquinsooner/sokhouseforsale_zpsa1127d41.jpg

IT'S ABOUT TIME!

Six years vacant. The owners held out for a larger settlement than the city offered and they lost. The bank took over and auctioned it off. A flipper bought it and fixed it up real nice.


And now it's for sale!

[TheHumanAlphabet]

So what about the son?

[stoops the eternal pimp]

Rip Mama

[SanJoaquinSooner]

So what about the son?

sorry ... coming soon ....

[SanJoaquinSooner]

Part III


So during the time of the Young’s ownership of the house, the teenaged son, Jay, starts coming over to our house, asking to borrow the phone. His excuse is that he doesn’t have a key to get in, and he’s waiting for his parents to get home. I didn’t realize it at first, but the parents had already moved out with the old lady. It wasn’t apparent to me because the HOA is strict about everyone keeping their cars inside the garages, so often you can’t really tell if anyone is home. It’s not until later that I notice the gas and electric meters are removed.

Jay is sleeping in the backyard because he doesn’t have anywhere else to go. His parents had given up on him and disowned him. In listening to his phone conversations, it sounded like he was trying to arrange meetings with his friends at the mall.

Another thing about Jay. This happened all pre-Travon Martin, but Jay always wore a hoodie, even in the dog days of summer.

And then early one morning about 5:30, Jay knocks at our door and asks for a ride to a friend’s house. Jay is kinda spacey and moving in slow-motion, and I’m not particularly scared of him, but I take Maria’s pepper spray and palm it in my left-hand while I drive him to his friend’s house. I stop at McDonald’s and ask him what he wants to eat – that I’ll buy. I can sense he hasn’t eaten in a while. With both of us still sitting in my car, and me gripping the pepper spray, he looks at me and says, “You’d do that for me?” – saying it in a way as if nobody had ever done a favor for him before.

So I get the food, take him to his friend’s house – he asks me to wait for him – and then I take him back home – and now it’s becoming apparent to me that he lives in the backyard. And I suspect I just took him to a friend’s house to score some drugs.

As the weeks pass, a pattern emerges. The husband and wife show up on weekends to check on the house, and Jay continues to occasionally appear out of nowhere needing to use our phone. I find out from the one neighbor who developed a friendship with the Young’s that they had given up on their son – he had messed up too many times. He was supposed to join the army and backed out.

Now, one day I look out the window and see Jay walking down the street, broad daylight in his hoodie, carrying a 12-foot ladder. He sets it up and is using it to climb through an unlocked second story window. It didn’t take long for someone to call the cops to report it. So when the cops show up, I go out there and explain that while I don’t believe the parents live there anymore, Jay is the son of the house’s owners. The cops didn’t seem to believe me. “Are you sure? He doesn’t look like he belongs around here. And he doesn’t seem to be all mentally here.” I track down that one neighbor who knows how to get hold of the parents, and the cops call the parents.

The end result -- Jay was told he was banned from the property and he would go to jail if caught on the property again.

And the next time I saw the husband at the house, I asked him what I should do if I saw Jay. He said, “Call the cops.”

The present day update on Jay: he is institutionalized.

[TheHumanAlphabet]

Damn. Too much bad karma for a house. I don't really believe necessarily in spirit cleansing and stuff, but I think the next people buying the house should consider it.

[Dallasbabe]

dont see the big deal. many black men have used my backyard

[badger]

Is this house still for sale?

The house across from us has been on sale for about a year now. The funny thing is that while it looks nice and well-kept, the next door neighbor to them (a friendly retired Vietnam vet) has a front lawn jungle garden. There's absolutely no grass, just a lot of flowers, a giant tree and a lot of tallgrass-like plants. Beautiful in spring with daffodils and irises, eyesore the rest of the year. I suspect that the jungle is keeping would-be buyers away.

Or perhaps, they're just asking way above market value.

[SanJoaquinSooner]

dont see the big deal. many black men have used my backyard

yeah, but Jay didn't enter through the backdoor.

[Dallasbabe]

some things go out the back door, some come in.