NY Squatter in a two family home

[Russell Martin]

In northern Ulster County, New York, I recently found a two family home for sale in a desirable area. The house is realistically a ranch with a 500 ft2 apartment above the garage. Condition is poor with serious and costly repairs necessary before the house will be livable, let alone rent-able. Still, the price is right and will sill be a solid deal after purchase price and repairs.

But there's a problem...  The house is being sold for an elderly, our of the area, landlord. For some time, there have been tenants living in the apartment portion of the property. No lease can be found and the tenants (or at this point, squatters) are refusing to leave. They've gone as far as to deny entry to perspective buyers and hire an attorney. They currently pay no rent and live in deplorable conditions with their two massive dogs.

I appreciate that NY is an awfully tenant friendly state. That said, I'm tempted to present a much lower offer to the seller and attempt a cash for keys deal with the squatters. If that fails, I'd likely have to hire an attorney to assist with eviction as I've been fortunate enough to avoid having to evict anyone to this point.

Has anyone dealt with squatters in NY, outside of the city? What about squatters in one half of a two family home (officially recorded as such by the county)? I've read some real horror stories on the forum and others, but I hate to see such a great deal tossed away.