Squatters: Leave them for the new buyer to deal with?

[Ivan Vargas]

Hey everyone! I'm new here and just getting started. Thank you in advance for any advise.

This may be a dumb question but I know Covid might be an x factor:

Potential deal where there is a squatter.  Seller told me they just got served yesterday.  She is motivated to sell.  

Should I wait until squatters are evicted to make an offer?  Or should I make an offer now?

Asking because I keep hearing how Covid is making it harder to evict. Also, trying to make an offer ASAP before someone beats me to it. 

Other factors: 

- property is in Orange County

- house is significantly smaller than average for the neighborhood (good size lot)

I am aware that this would make it a less than favorable wholesale deal for me to flip.  I just don't know how investors deal with this or if it's an absolute deal breaker.

[Lawrence Dy]

Hi Ivan, have you explored the option of offering contingent upon seller vacating the property from squatters? If this is something she is receptive to, this would probably be your ideal route. You can set close of escrow to be X amount of days after property has been vacated. 

If the seller won't entertain this and must sell and close immediately, you'll have to assess the strength of the deal and determine if you think it's worth it to inherit a potentially challenging situation with the squatters. You'll just want to budget for the cost of holding the property and dealing with the challenges of vacating the squatters yourself. 

Additionally, you can explore the option of incentivizing the squatters to leave. Sometimes, they will leave immediately for a certain dollar figure. While not ideal, this can be a simpler and more profitable option. Hope this helps!