Eviction Prior to taking possession..?

Question

Alright, I just got a deal under contract and here is a new one for me:

There are tenants in the property now. The owner doesn't know who they are. She's out of town and the mother apparently rented or allowed the tenants to move in. They don't have a lease - or if they do the mother created it and didn't have the legal authority to do so. She also has Alzheimerâ€™s so she doesn't know who is living there and they are not collecting rent.

Since I have no idea who lives there, I haven't been able to get inside the house. I told the lady I'd give her x without seeing the inside. It could be a good deal but I have no idea. If the house isn't in complete shambles on the interior then the price is decent.

And yes, I have an option on the house so I can back out without question at any time in case there is something going on that hsouldn't be.

So, I'm trying to get ideas on how to find out who is living in the house. I can't file for eviction unless I have the first and last names of all occupants. Also, I need to find out if they've been paying rent, how much and to whom. I've been by the house multiple times and no one is home. I went to Intellius.com and paid for a search that was garbage and told me nothing. I did a whitepages search and got some names but the names didn't match the intellius report.

So, anyone have any ideas? I was thinking of posting a notice on the front door saying you're being evicted. Please call. Seems a bit cold to evict someone if they legitimately think they have a right to be there and I haven't even given them a chance to explain. But, I certainly don't want anyone in the house that isn't paying.

The alternative would be to post something on the door that says the seller has agreed to sell the house and they need to identify themselves. Am I reading too much into this. Could it be that simple?

Thanks in advance

Jon Holdman · Answer

Have you spoken with a lawyer?  Do you have any legal standing to initiate an eviction?  Seems like that would have to be done by the current owner, but perhaps your option gives that grounds.

I can think of several approaches, but I have no idea what's legal in a case like this in TX.  I had a similar situation on property I bought in TX many years ago and the seller handled getting the tenant out.

Just Don · Answer

'Here' they use the wording  John Doe and Mary Doe, real names unknown, and all other John and Mary Does in actual possession ,,,when they are unknown.

If they have any utilities on,,call utility and check to see if its in owners or your name, sometimes they will ask or tell, who is Joe Blow then??

Sounds like you have squatters

Ask neighbors when they come and go.  Camp out at that time.

Check out the car they drive

Randal McLeaird · Answer

Hey guys, wanted to do a follow-up to this post. The occupants ended up having a lease/option or contract for deed the mother of the lady i was dealing with set up with them back in 2000. Term was valid until 2010.

Once I put the eviction notice on the door I got a call the next day from the occupants attorney who sent me the docs showing he had an interest in the property. Turns out, the mom gave the property to the daughter (who I was working with) but the daughter told the mom to keep it rented and keep the cash flow as supplimental income.

Turns out the mom has Alzheimerâ€™s and did the contract with the occupants...without being the record title holder at the time. So she sold something she didn't own and waiting till the end of the term to make a stink.

If the daughter were to challenge the deal she'd put her mom at jeopardy of being sued for fraudulently selling something she didn't own.

On top of that, the attorney for the occupants told me he did some digging and found out the mom/daughter combo had done this before on another property......

I was wondering why the deal was so good..lol.

Anyway, at least now I know what to do in these situations.

All the best.

Steve Dussault · Answer

I'm in Indiana, but here you can file the eviction against "Unknown Occupants" or at least I have seen that done several times.

I think you're making a bigger deal out of this than you should.  Check with a lawyer in your state.  In 5 minutes you'd know how to proceed to get the job done.

Randal McLeaird · Answer

Yeah thought of both. Don't have the 'manpower' and there is a group of mailboxes. So no definite number to the house.

Knocked over and over. .... Still working on it

Account Closed · Answer

There really isn't any other way than just knocking on the door at this point.

If you have some heavy hitting databases at your disposal or a friend that has more legal authority than you do to make contact and require identification from the occupants your kind of out of luck.

Or you could always open the mailbox to see who's name is on the mail, however this could possibly get you in trouble.

Randal McLeaird · Answer

Thanks for the info guys. I'm a realtor as well and figured I'd do a couple things. 1)get authorization from seller to initiate eviction same as I would if I were property manager. 2)already posted a notice on the door saying the owner is selling the house and they need to contact me to discuss their options. If no contact made by end of business on Monday I will go place the standard eviction 3 day notice and the. Go to court prior to purchase. 3)talk to broker, and attorney.

Should work out, I just didn't feel right going straight up to the occupants with an eviction notice without knowing who they are and how they came to occupy. Another reason, eviction notice has to have full name of each occupant. I don't know who they are. I did the search on intelius and got nothing.

You know another way to find out names of occupants? That's really the big question.

Steve Babiak · Answer

Have the OWNER post a "Notice to Quit" on the door, allowing for the statutory time in which to do so (might be 5, 10 or 30 days); you can actually be the party that puts it on the door but it most likely has to be the owner who "hires" you to do so.  That might get them to move, or make contact - either of which gets things moving.  If no contact, then the OWNER must be prepared to proceed to eviction.  The OWNER will probably need to hire an attorney for advice on this and to do the eviction, so you might want to line up some competent referrals.

Eviction Prior to taking possession..?

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