Buying Occupied Reo's or Foreclosures in Tampa. Good or Bad??

Question

Asking for advice from anyone who has purchased an occupied REO or at foreclosure auction and what is your experience with getting them out. I am looking to purchase multiple properties in the Tampa, Fl area and wonder what the laws and such are concerning getting them out?

Account Closed · Answer

Yes it was in Florida ! .. im not saying there cant be deals but you just have to weigh the risks .. that situation was pretty isolated .. the problem the banks had was they were dealing with somebody who read up on the laws .. so when he was offered a lease he decided to offer the owner a decent but hugely discounted price for a 5 year pre paid lease .. .. he knew that the banks could not show it to sell if it got foreclosed on and also knew that investor in there right minds would buy a property, not only sight unseen but then have to wait the remainder of the lease with no sorce of income ( remember the occupant had a 5 year prepaid lease ) and he then knew that nobody that wasnt a investor would pay cash for a place sight unseen and still have to go through a eviction process .. so that occupant worked the system .. which as a investor i was angry but as a eveyday citizen i couldnt gelp but to say ..hell ya.. you go.. its so disgusting what the banks got away with .. and still getting away with .. I'll tell you this .. most occupants will move out with a cash for keys offer .. so ask yourself this .. can i affird to buy them out and still make a decent profit .. and by the way .. it may say uts against the law to disturb occupants but that guy was disturbed weekly and nobody ever got in trouble .. and very worse case .. your asked not to come back or get slapped with a do not tresspass .. I would research the property find out whos living there and send rgem a letter with your intent .. ask tgem if they would be willing to accept or talk about a offer to move out once you take possession .. there is no law that states you cant talk to someone at the corner store or at there work .. it may be worth the few hudred bucks fir a investigator to give you that info .. it all depends on how discounted the oroperty is .. .. the numbers dont lie .. God Speed , Mike

Dottie Matheson · Answer

good to know! Thanks Mike Ill go that route if the numbers work.

Dottie Matheson · Answer

Wow!! This insane! Was this in Florida? Sounds like California where tenants have all the rights. It seems totally risky to buy an occupied property. I may stick with vacants. Especially since a lot of the props say it's against the law to trepeess and do not disturb occupant.

Account Closed · Answer

@Dottie Matheson, hello.. please read the laws carefully .. it really depends on the type of lease they have .. i coukd tell youna true story on how one person beat the system and was able to stay for over 5 years and not have to pay a monthly rent .. even after the house was foreclosed on .. the bank tried and tried but eventually the judge got so upset that she had hand written the date that the people occupying the property were able to stay and wrote it wrong , giving them another year on top of the five they were locked in to .. the bank tried offering cash for keys and the last offer was $17,500 but then they messed around and pissed the occupants off so they just stayed .. and stayed .. Now .. the property was up for sale but if a investor bought it then they would have had to abide by the judges hand written date on court order papers that tgey were allowed to stay.. plus any investor whoukd have to abide by the occupants lease .. there was two loopholes that might have gotten them evicted .. 1.) a non investor buys the property and that brakes the lease and even the judges decision .. 2.) and the bank tried this one but not very hard ..the pre-existing lease has to be of fair market value .. like if they have a lease that states they only pay $250 fir a $1250 place then it can be broken and eviction process can begin as soon as a judge agrees that its not fair market rent .. as for the occupants of that house i have been talking about .. when the bank finally put it back up on Hubzu the 5th year .. they swooped in and bought it for 1/4 of its worth.. depite the bank saying they would never sell to the them .. score one for the common man and zero for the bank .. .. moral of the story .. read the laws and do your due diligence.. good luck, i hope this true story helped and God Speed .. Michael Short

Ken M. · Answer

I'd be extremely careful about what postings you read on here. Just above you have two directly contradictory advisements. REOs in any place depend on the laws governing the process, the local clerk, the servicing agent, and the bank. Most importantly it's the laws. I'd also pay attention to what has happened with the property through the legal process. The state in which you will interact with that piece of property is entirely dependent on what has happened with it.IMO Florida has REO risks of the following: foundation settling, roofing issues, ventilation, mold and vegetation overgrowth. I'd be more than happy to help you as this is my area of expertise.

Mark J. · Answer

Hi Dottie-- If you're interested, the South Shore Real Estate Group's monthly meeting is being held on Thursday, March 2 in Riverview, FL from 7:30-9PM at The Alley at Southshore. I'll be giving a free presentation all about buying foreclosure properties in Hillsborough county and surrounding areas. I'll be covering the entire online auction process and my five-step screening process so that you can bid with confidence! ;)For more info, PM me.

Dottie Matheson · Answer

Thanks David that was my next questions. In california squatters have rights

David Dec · Answer

This is Florida and no one has mentioned squatters. They will move in after owners move out.

Dottie Matheson · Answer

Thank you Andrew for the info. There are some bank owned properties listed on auction sites such as Hubzu.com, Xome and auction.com that state buyer is responsible for the occupant when purchasing. I will check with a lawyer and read the information provided.

Phil Bach · Answer

If you're buying at the county auctions you can expect a handful of the daily properties to be occupied by a tenant, or more likely, an owner. You will be responsible for getting them out of the property once you obtain title. Tenants are easier to work with, some will be more than happy to stay if they are still paying rent. Owner occupants tend to be pretty bitter about the foreclosure process and uncooperative. The owners have a limited window after you purchase the property to contest the sale, so you might get tied up in litigation for a few months.Once a property surpasses the county auction process and becomes an REO, most bank servicing companies will clear the property out prior to listing. Foreclosure bidding sites like Hubzu and Xome, however, may require you to take full responsibility for evicting the occupant upon closing.