Previous owner entering the home, legal?

Question

Hello,We have a vacant home in Tulsa, Oklahoma that we took over ownership in August 2017. The tenant that was occupying the home when we took over ownership moved out in September 2017. We have been advertising the home for rent and have had a steady showing but just now have found the right tenants. They will be moving in on Wednesday. The home was purchased owner finance. The deed is in our Land Trust name. We have been making mortgage payments and insurance payments on the home and maintaining it in the vacancy. The previous owner is requesting that we get utilities back on. He has ENTERED THE HOME and put antifreeze in the toilet to prevent freezing. Is he legally allowed to enter the home? We are the new owners on title. He is in the position of the bank and he has his money. We are getting the home re-keyed on Wednesday so that only the tenants and us will have a key.He wrote me this morning asking me to get the utilities turned on and to winterize the lines. We have a tenant occupying the house on Wednesday. In my opinion he doesn't need to be concerned with any of these detail and he shouldnt be allowed to enter the home as he is not the owner any longer. But before I write him back I wanted to make sure I am correct in asking him not to enter the home and make these requests from us and to leave us and the tenants alone unless it is a financial matter.Thank you for your thoughts.

Ray Slack · Answer

Depends on the wording of your mortgage.. Usually, the bank (Prior owner) has the right to protect the property as he has an interest in the property through his mortgage. Just as a bank can enter a vacant property and secure/change locks and winterize the property, he would have such rights if it's in the mortgage agreement. You should not attack him for this as he seems to only be concerned about the property.. I would simply explain you have someone moving in and ask him to call you in the future if he has any concern about the property.Ray

Kyle Hipp · Answer

if you read the vast majority of mortgage docs there is reference that the bank has rights to inspect. They are rarely exercised however. He also has the right to ensure that you maintain the property. I would address your concern recognizing the intent but laying a different procedure going forward

Steven Osterhout · Answer

@Andrea Tapp Thank you for this post. I never thought of this situation even happening and should help me in the future when I make arrangements. I also imagine that since the first big freeze of the year was within a week, he was probably making sure the house was protected. I would have had a hard time not taking offense personally. I am just curious if you have an update to how you have handled the situation?

Laurence K. · Answer

I get the impression he's concerned that you're not taking the proper actions to mitigate the risk on the property. If you've bought with little or no money down, then he's the one who would lose if the pipes all froze and you walked away.Maybe he understands the local conditions better than you do.

Sam Leon · Answer

I would sit down with him and try to sort things out. Delineate the responsibilities, what's his and what's yours, to make sure there is no confusion going forward. You are responsible for maintaining, insuring, and paying mortgage. He is responsible to collect his checks and if he is concerned to conduct scheduled inspections.It's possible he is just trying to be extra helpful. I would sit down and talk to him first before lawyering up. I am sure he doesn't want your new tenant to call him when the toilet is blocked, so a conversation on where the line is to be drawn needs to happen.

Deborah Burian · Answer

@Andrea Tapp - regulations will vary greatly based on the wording of your note and each state will differ. You used an attorney to prepare the documents, I strongly recommend you rely on that attorney to advise you as to each parties rights in this matter.

Nathan Gesner · Answer

He has no legal right to access the property. I understand he is concerned with you maintaining the home but mortgage lenders do not dictate how you maintain the home and they certainly do not enter the home and do work on it!I would send him written notice, preferably through an attorney, that clearly spells out his rights and responsibilities. And I would let him know that if he enters the property again, he will be charged with trespass or breaking and entering.

Michael Slockers · Answer

Hey @Andrea Tapp it sounds like you've got some great feedback on this posting already. The only thing I have to add is that you obviously want to preserve the long-term relationship with this lender. I'd guess this is his first owner-finance (great job to you on landing this!) and therefore he still has a landlord mindset! Pretty silly for him to go in and enter the property without your permission, but I guess the lesson here (for you and me both) is always make your first move changing locks. You should address it with him but delicately ;-)

Tim Johnson · Answer

If an owner/mortgagor on one of my notes had a vacant property in the winter, I'd certainly want to know that the pipes aren't bursting since my loan is secured by that property... but if I was really concerned I'd discuss it w/ the owner over the phone and rely on them to take care of it instead of driving there and trying to do it myself. Don't have time for that! Only exception might be if the owner had a history of bad decision making / not being trustworthy, and if I also knew that I had the right to enter according to the legal docs. Not sure about your legal docs but I highly doubt you're mistreating the property. :)

Andrea Tapp · Answer

Thankyou all for your feedback. In no way do we mean to attack him. I simply want to know our rights and his rights from other people experience. We used the basic real estate commission owner finance mortgage that was drafted and reviewed by an attorney in town. We haven’t had any danger of frozen lines yet as we are not in freezing temps here. We are aware of the need of freezing temps hit. But with the utilities being turned on this week we should be okay. I don’t feel like it’s okay for him to enter the home and do as he pleases without our consent and wanted to see if i am correct in thinking this. So i appreciate hearing your thoughts.