Squatters: A Threat to Your Empty Home in Bakersfield

If the term ‘Squatter’ is new to you, don’t confuse it with those tenants who reside in your property without paying rent. You can call them holdover tenant. In case, a tenant decides not to leave, it doesn’t necessarily mean they are squatting. To remove such tenants, you can serve the correct notices, followed by some normal court procedures and might get rid of the problem in a few months.

But then who are real squatters?

Actually, they are people who have no right to be in your property, as Wikipedia defines squatting to be

“The action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building, usually residential —that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use.”

It might be your tenants who have let them in, i.e. people not mention in the tenancy agreement, or just they simply occupied your residential property which was left empty, unoccupied and unsecured.

Squatters are certainly a big threat to the homeowners in California. Often squatters hold a certain attitude, as if they have rights to your property. The cases of squatting are become more common in Bakersfield and nearby regions. Here’s a case to make you understand the situation which can arise with anyone.

It is about the house near Morning Drive and Niles Street, which was in a foreclosure. Due to some circumstances the owner wasn’t living in the property for few months. Later, when he found that squatters have taken over the property, he approached Kern County deputies for help.

Though he has been sending the eviction notice to the squatters to voluntarily leave the premises, yet they didn’t bother to acknowledge any of them.

While the owner had already represented all the legal documents, verified from the bank, stating that the man is the legal owner of the house, Kern County deputies fails to help him. Reason being, the squatters stated that they have a lease and produced rental receipts, a rental agreement, etc.

So, what if you suddenly discover that you have squatters in your property?

How to protect your home from squatters?

Have you heard about the squatters' rights? No, here it is not to scare you. But yes, it can be really difficult for you to evict your home from people who had squat in.

Therefore, it is advised to avoid a squatter situation from happening. If you have any unwanted home in Bakersfield where you are not interested in living or you have plan to leave your property vacant due to some other reasons, make sure it’s secure. But it is understood that it will be difficult for you to keep a check on the property every now and then. Hence, it would be better to sell your home to the potential buyers for cash in California. While this will eliminate your worries for the squatters, on the other hand you will get a good amount for your property. And yes, there are many buyers who are interested in buying your home in as-is condition that too for fastest cash offers. Why take risk, when you have safer options!

But what if you already have a squatter?

Here’s a list of things you can do;

Inform the Police: As soon as you discover a squatter, act immediately and call the police. More you delay in informing, greater are the chances for the court to think that you gave squatters consent to stay there. However, in a case police declare it to be a civil matter you must start with the eviction process.

A Warning Notice: You might be lucky to get the squatter out after you serve the eviction notice. However, if they deny doing so, you need to file an unlawful detainer lawsuit. It is basically a formal way to evict.

Know the Legal Process: Even if you are successful in evicting them, you must be very careful in handling the abandoned personal property. Checkout for the stuff left behind by squatters; know what you can and cannot do with these. Yes, you have to follow proper procedure for your jurisdiction.

Unfortunately, the law favors squatters. Though this is unfair for the home owners, yet you can easily elope by finding out a buyer who can purchase your empty/ unwanted home for a right cash amount.

Have you faced a problem with a squatter? Don’t forget to share your story in the comments below.