Bought Foreclosure at courthouse.

[Will C.]

Hello all! Long time browser here, but first time poster.
I've been doing real estate for years out in OC California but am now in the DFW area in Texas.
I bought my first "courthouse steps" foreclosure the other day. I'm unclear on a couple of points.
I cannot determine the occupancy. There's a run down truck in the driveway that hasn't moved since I bought the house. There's a dog in the house. There are never any lights on day or night. No answers at the door. Repeated attempts with notes on the door and letters in the mail. Unanswered phone calls. The notes eventually get taken down along with all the ads that get distributed in the neighborhood. It very well could be a neighbor or friends getting mail and feeding dog, but I'm not sure.
So I'm just assuming that the previous owner is still there, but what if this continues for several more days. At some point do I assume that it's been abandoned? I mailed the "notice to vacate" the other day. Do I see a whole eviction through, or am I supposed to break in and re-key? Do I mail a 5 day re-key notice? And what do I do with his stuff, dog, and truck?
I guess another way to ask the question is if from the beginning I looked in the house and didn't see anything and it looked completely abandoned, what would be the legal method of gaining control of the house in that scenerio?
Thank you in advance for any help that you might be able to give!

[Will C.]

Thanks for all the help and replies, everybody. It seems like forever ago that I posted this and have bought and sold several homes since then. (all at the courthouse steps) I'm starting to understand this business a bit more! (usually when things go bad, right? =)

Here's what happened. After several more days of trying to get into contact with the prior owner I posted a "bluff" lock change letter on the door. The key change thing IS legal in Texas, but actually does very little to help out as you have to let them right back in if they ask.

So I posted the lock change letter on the door asking about occupancy and that afternoon i got a call from the previous owner. Like several other homes I've dealt with since this one, the previous owner said the foreclosure was a mistake and that he was in the middle of a loan modification. (he was posted for foreclosure at the courthouse for months so this foreclosure had been going on for a LONG time)

Long story short, I offered cash for keys to him without any luck. I initiated the eviction process with my newly found attorney. A few days later the previous owner called to find out about cash for keys and how much I'd offer. He moved out a week or two later than the agreement stated but I still gave him the full $500. Without the legal eviction running in the 'background' he would have remained 100% immovable. (he tried blackmailing me among many other threats)

I've since stopped cash for keys at my attorney's request as he feels it just opens a person up for all kinds of law suits, fights, personal threats, etc. The legal eviction process is quite slow and give a person a long time to simmer down, come to an understanding of the situation, and make a plan for the future. He's been doing this for many years and says that you'll suffer some damage to the house once in a while, but usually it's worth it to avoid the hands on contact with the people who lost their home and their financial lives.

I'm working away on new foreclosures all the time. Making some pretty good money so far, and hope to kick it into higher gear with a bit more financing from hard money and some friends who watch too much TV.. (TLC) :mrgreen: