How to deal with vacant but not abandoned property?

[Nancy Zhao]

I purchased a foreclosed property whose owner is in prison pending multiple felony charges. It doesn't look like she will be bailed out and the property is currently vacant. I drove by a bunch of times and the electricity is off and nobody is living there. However, there is a fairly new car parked in the driveway that doesn't appear to have been moved in a month or more. The property was in both the owner and her ex-husband's name as was the foreclosed loan, but it appears he hasn't lived there since they divorced years ago.

How would you guys approach this? Try to contact the owner's attorney and offer them money? Contact the ex-husband whose name was on the deed and negotiate with him? Can I just do a 3 day notice, change the locks and take possession? This is in California.

Thanks!

[JD Martin]

If it were my house, I would just go there and take possession. You say you've already bought the house. If there's no one in the house (or even if there's a squatter in there), I would move forward. Hire someone else to do it if you're afraid of meeting up with a person - hire a locksmith to change all the locks. Or a security firm.