Securing Property After Auction Purchase

[Mark Waldrip]

Hello BP,

I searched about 30 pages for this topic before posting to make sure it hasn't been discussed!

Need advice on securing a house I purchased 2 weeks ago at a county tax resale auction. I was the winning bidder and received a tax resale deed. The county website shows me as owner as well. 

The property appeared to be abandoned, and according to water/electric co. no utilities have been on for over 5 years. When I received the deed I went to inspect/secure the property. Front door locked but the back door unlocked, so I went in and found it full of furniture and old personal items. It was a mess and very nasty!

Neighbor says previous owner comes & goes from there and collects mail, so I left a note on the door introducing myself and asking him to call about getting his things. He called me and he acted a little surprised about the auction and wanted to see if he could get the house back. I said he could do what he likes, and would give him to end of month to get anything out of house he wanted to keep. He agreed, saying he doesn't live there but keeps his things there; said if he can't get house back he'll make arrangements for his stuff. Last week I taped a 5 Day Notice to Vacate on his door, which will also end on the last day of the month. I called him and told him this was to formalize the terms we had already agreed to. 

My question is, can I begin securing the property on the 1st as planned, or does this situation qualify as a tenant requiring eviction proceedings? In OK, it's illegal to occupy a house without utilities, so no case could be made that he's living there. Most everything in there is junk, but am I under obligation to store what's left? My plan (in 3 days) is to proceed with changing locks and cleaning out the house and throw away the junk as I would any vacant property. 

But I would appreciate any opinions or experience anyone might have. 

Thanks for any input!

Mark