HUMBLE, Texas — *UPDATE: Shirley Crew would not be evicted Wednesday as scheduled. County Commissioners have agreed to delay the eviction while a new attorney takes a look at her case.*
An eviction deadline of three days has been given to a 70-year-old Humble woman, fighting to keep the home she’s lived in for over 65 years.
70-year-old Shirley Crew says she’s not sure where she’ll go if county attorneys move forward with evicting her from her home.
In her living room, we sat on a mountain of paperwork. For every document, some brittle to the touch, it takes five to 10 minutes to decipher what’s being said.
“Oh it’s very stressful. Very. You pay an attorney to do all this work, and what? Nothing,” said Crew.
What should ultimately take precedence is the deed which was willed to Crew from her parents. A deed with the address of 8842 ½ FM 1960. Crew still holds the original deed which shows her father paid $400 for several plots on the same land.
The property purchased by the most recent developer has been listed as 8842 Humble Westfield according to the county property appraiser’s site. A discrepancy very similar to cases community activist Renee Jefferson Smith says she’s seen with other properties in older communities.
Just as in other cases, address are updated over the years without the property owner’s knowledge.
Harris County Constables say the developer who bought what he believes to be Shirley Crew’s property, is pressing for the eviction to take place as soon as possible.
Not just for Crew, but for the other three homes owned by the Hardy family right behind them.
The Hardy’s have gone to court with Crew on a number of occasions, but say they can’t afford to any longer.
Helen Hardy says the same developer offered to have her sign away her property years ago and she turned him down. Hardy says she had no idea the property had been sold in auction, until she was summoned to court by the same developer.
Fast forward to 2019 and she feels she has no choice but to forfeit the homes her grandmother once lived in.
“I don’t want to give it up, but I told them I didn’t have any money to keep it up,” said Hardy.
All they had was spent on the same attorney retained by Crew, in the hopes of fighting the property dispute in court.
Now that the attorney is no longer representing either family, we along, with Smith, made numerous phone calls to county officials including the offices of local politicians to find a solution and fast.
Those involved say they’re contacting the constable’s office in Precinct 4 to delay the eviction once again until the legal matter is fully reviewed.
To help with potential legal fees, the Crew family has set up a GoFundMe account.