Maryland-occupied auction purchases

[Karen K.]

Specifically for Anne Arundel County and Calvert County MD. What happens when you purchase a property at auction and the previous owners don't want to leave?  I am familiar with Cash for Keys but what happens if that does not work?  Are there laws that help protect them that make it hard to get rid of them? 

[Rich Baer]

@Karen K.

       Karen,

          What you do is file a motion in the foreclosure case. There are specific documents that you need so you will need to hire an Attorney familiar with the process. Eventually the Judge will sign off on the eviction documents. Each jurisdiction is different. I have had ones in Baltimore County that took months. If the former owner's file Bankruptcy it delays things even longer. After the Judge signs you have to contact the Sheriff to schedule the eviction. That again can take  6 weeks. Once scheduled you need to find out from the Sheriff how many people YOU need to bring to the eviction to remove the contents. In Baltimore County you have to have 10 people present or the Sheriff will cancel the eviction. At the eviction the Sheriff goes into the house to make sure no one is hiding or armed. Once he gives you the all clear or removes the person, you go in and change the locks and remove the contents. Sounds like fun right?

      Rich Baer, Attorney