Rehabbing & House Flipping
Market News & Data
General Info
Real Estate Strategies
Landlording & Rental Properties
Real Estate Professionals
Financial, Tax, & Legal
Real Estate Classifieds
Reviews & Feedback
Updated over 5 years ago, 04/16/2019
The Occupants from Hell!
I am currently dealing with some occupants (who are no more than squatters) and getting them out so I can get in and start the rehab has been a daunting process. Typically, I get them out with cash for keys and it is never easy, but usually effective.
In this case, I purchased the property (practically stole it on price and terms)Feb 28th of this year and am still working on getting these morons out. I offered them $6k! for keys and they did not take it. I started eviction and they have used every tactic in the book to cause delays and extend the process. On the final hour before the summary judgement hearing, one of the two occupants filed for BK causing another 45 day or so delay. Unfortunately in CA, the laws, for some stupid reason, reside with occupants and not the legal owners. (I wont even get started on politics here!)
The good news is that I was able to have summary judgement against one of the occupants and already filed for the Sherriff to remove her from the premises. Should be within the next week or so for that. The kicker is that once it happens, her boyfriend still has rights to be there (until he is finally evicted) so I am quite sure she will just come right back. When that happens, I will make damn sure I make their lives as miserable as possible for the problems they have caused me. How can I do that legally you might ask? I will have periodic visits to the property and when I see she is there, I will call the Sherriff and inform them that she is illegally trespassing on my property and I want her removed/arrested. I will do this as many times as it takes until they get the point or until summary judgement against him occurs. Either way, screw them both!!! :roll:
What comes around goes around and theirs is coming.
***Update as of today 1-31-16: 5 years and 32 thread pages later, this is still ongoing. The following link was created by a BP Member in support of my situation found on page 32 of this thread. https://www.gofundme.com/OccupantsfromHell
This was approved by the heads of BP to be live in this thread. ***
Evictions in California are no different than most state. I have homes, duplex and apartments in Ventura, Oxnard, Simi Valley, TO and Long beach. My company does about 4 a week for the apartments alone. If you give the notice, proper posts and follow through it takes 27 total days. I have never had a bad eviction. I never said anyone was an idiot. I would not recommend anyone hat takes three years to get some out of rental. Would you?
I would remind you that the maximum penalty in California is the unpaid rent up to 7,500.
@Charles Reed , while you may have not said it on those words, the condescention comes through loud and clear. There are always unusual situations that don't go by the book and they may not have anything to do with the competence of the people on your side.
If you're really in real estate, as you claim to be, then you should know that things don't always go as they've all been prepared on paper.
@Charles Reed While I appreciate your suggestion, this is not a case where such a thing could work. First off, the "squatters" are not really squatters off the street who broke in and took occupancy. He has challenged title claiming he was married to the seller and that she had no legal right to sell the property to me. He has no legal marriage certificate so then he claimed a punitive spouse claim and I have been tied up in family court for longer than I care to remember. I can not sell the property for a loss, I can not transfer utilities into my name, I can not schedule a termite company to tent the house. This is also not a case where my attorney sucks, it is an abnormal case where the occupant has used every means to use the system to his advantage, has had extreme luck in timelines and getting court schedules rescheduled causing many, many delays.
My court appearance later this month will bring the new judge up to speed and my trial date starts at the end of February. I am willing to bet that the opposing counsel will waste enough time to require a second day of trial so this will lily go into April. But at that time, this a-hole will be out of cards to play and I will definitely be standing in the driveway when the her riffs toss hi out on his lazy, ugly, disgusting, old arz and will get just a sliver of satisfaction witnessing that. From there, I will file a small claims case against him for the maximum allowable amount and even if I don't get paid, the judgement will follow him to his miserable death.
As to your pest control suggestion, I would not attempt that here in CA as the laws simply suck here for landlords, you are likely to get sued for doing such a thing.
Hey Will. Joe Gore....oops I mean Charles Reed has a solution to your issue in his first day at Bigger Pockets ! Just throw a tent over it and call it a day. Better yet with him being a lawyer, he will get them out for you in 27 days !
Sorry I had to say it. In all seriousness, go luck in court this month as the whole Bigger Pockets community is pulling for you
Everyone is rooting for Will, but sometimes it feels like rooting for the Cubs to win the World Series.
Originally posted by @Charles Reed:
Remedies to remove squatters are numerous and vary from state to state; however, with a bit of craftiness on the part of the property owner, the squatter can be removed without too much difficulty. Safety is such a remedy.
Not quite, I assume you have heard of "intent"? It would not be difficult here in CA for the opposing attorney to prove your intent of the pest control scheme was used solely for removal purposes and not a safety issue. If the home really did have termites, there is no imminent safety issue to the occupants.
If you have never had an eviction last longer than 27 days here in CA, consider yourself extremely lucky and it is only a matter of time before you get unlucky or sued for such "creative practices" for removals. Here in CA, the timeline is much longer than 27 days and any tenant holds the right and ability to delay your eviction action and stretch it out. They could file BK which would result in an immediate notice of stay action preventing the landlord from evicting for at least 60 days beyond the standard notice timelines in CA which vary depending on how long the tenant has resided at that location, in TX, you are much closer to accurate as landlord laws are much, much, much better there compared to CA.
@Will Barnard , out of interest, why would you pursue him in small claims versus regular courts? I'm sure that the damages and losses over the period would far exceed small claims?
Wleill as a landlord I have used this and other methods more times than I can count. You own the property. I have built ins in my lease for maintance, services and upgrades. If you purchase a property in Southern California you will have a termite issue. With a 24 hour notice you can preform any type of notice you feel is in the best interest of your property. A Court can not tell you how or when a service can be done. You can place your property for sale at very high price. Service the property as a sale will happen. Gas is harmful. No lease means following all notice laws. But if they vacate smile.
Originally posted by @Charles Reed:
Wleill as a landlord I have used this and other methods more times than I can count. You own the property. I have built ins in my lease for maintance, services and upgrades. If you purchase a property in Southern California you will have a termite issue. With a 24 hour notice you can preform any type of notice you feel is in the best interest of your property. A Court can not tell you how or when a service can be done.
I'm not questioning anybody's ability to make repairs on their property, rather your strategy to remove a non paying tenant. After you complete that termite inspection and change the locks, you have violated that tenant's rights and can be sued. If you fail to let them back in after the service, it will get clear that your intent was to illegally remove them from your property permanently. I'm surprised you have not been sued trying thus for so many years, again, consider yourself lucky. As to the last sentence I quoted from you here, it is completely ignorant to believe that, courts, I.e. judges have more power than you think and I know this first hand.
Regardless of your arguments and suggestions, and to get this thread back on track, MY situation is not with simple squatters or on paying tenants, it is a matter of challenging title which is currently clouded by the stay action until a decision is rendered via trial.
@CK Hwang, because though I would win more money, it would cost too much in legal fees and I will not pay more money to chase after bad money, of which I am likely never going to collect, so he small claims can be done without legal fees, just some minor filing fees and provides me some additional satisfaction at an arbitrary cost, nothing more.
what I am saying here in a nutshell is Ca has a Three-Day Notice of Clear and Present Danger rule to get rid of bad or hostile tenants. The gas can be applied to that rule. It has an successful argument in the courts since 1992.
will I guess the way to look at it you have a title issue and your remedies are with the title company.
@Will Barnard - I can't believe I've read all 20 pages of this thread and there is still no conclusion to your nightmare. I admire your perseverance and sincerely hope that justice will be on your side eventually. This makes me so glad I decided not to invest in CA!
"will I guess the way to look at it you have a title issue and your remedies are with the title company. "
Charles, if you have truly read through all of the posts, I don't see how you could make this conclusion. This is a case of the courts given credence to a professional scammer and refusing to review the evidence in front of them... not negligence on the part of the title company for failing to research and provide clear title.
@charles reed. It is my understanding that Texas A&M did not have a law school until very recently. What class are you?
Uhhh....Ouch. Nice catch Matt
Established
1989 (as Dallas/Fort Worth School of Law)
1992 (as Texas Wesleyan University School of Law)
2013 (as Texas A&M University School of Law)
Originally posted by @Kent R.:
"will I guess the way to look at it you have a title issue and your remedies are with the title company. "
Charles, if you have truly read through all of the posts, I don't see how you could make this conclusion. This is a case of the courts given credence to a professional scammer and refusing to review the evidence in front of them... not negligence on the part of the title company for failing to research and provide clear title.
That is correct! Title policies have all kinds of exclusions and exceptions and unfortunately for me, this situation does not allow me to collect from title insurance, otherwise I would have.
how can anyone let alone a judge see someone fighting over title of this property for 3 years without any solid proof that they own this property! I don't know what else to add that already hasn't been said. Speachless . . .
Saddened by long this has dragged on.Our prayers r with you Will for a speedy conclusion of this eviction
My son, and your house, have a fast approaching anniversary. He has just managed to learn to tie his shoes {which was no little feat, given the difficulty in finding kids shoes with laces these days} in time for his, what are things looking like for your anniversary?
Originally posted by @Roy N.:
My son, and your house, have a fast approaching anniversary. He has just managed to learn to tie his shoes {which was no little feat, given the difficulty in finding kids shoes with laces these days} in time for his, what are things looking like for your anniversary?
Not sure, but I am hopeful that the new judge puts a smack down on this situation and affords me the ability to evict this jack hole.
Will, do you have a Feb court date we can all anxiously await?
Back to the original deal...you stared that you bought the property subject 2. Why not just walk? Or did you have a big investment of your own on top of the first mortgage?
The original numbers aren't clear. I'm sure you are doing a continual cost benefit on this ongoing drama..now 3 years in.
Regardless, what a horror story.
I'm sure the legal fees alone are through the roof