All Forum Posts by: Tony C.

@Michaela G. Great advice. I definitely intend to lock up tightly, install a security system perhaps and get the ball rolling on rehab ASAP.

@Rick H. Thanks. In your experience, I'm guessing occupants almost always answer the summons?

@Michaela G.According to Obama's Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act of 2009, leases can survive a foreclosure. The stated start date on the lease was before the foreclosure so if the lease is valid, which I strongly believe to not be the case, they may be protected. That said, the lessor is not the bank but the previous owner, which they have written on the "lease." 

The bank is totally out of the picture at this point. As is typical with REOs (as far as I know in GA), the bank takes no responsibility with regards to the condition/state of the property (i.e., if there are tenants, that's now the buyer's problem).

Here is the thing: occupants told me they found the property off craigslist and the payment arrangement was for owner to collect the money order in-person at the property. Now I believe around the time the property foreclosed, according to the occupants, the owner mysteriously stopped showing up to collect rent. Now they told me they haven't been paying rent for a few months...

@Brandon Battle Awesome, thanks for the advice!

@Kalimah Jenkins The landlord-tenant laws are slightly different comparing NYC/GA. NYC is tenant friendly whereas GA is landlord friendly. That said, I'm aware this doesn't mean GA landlords can do whatever they wish with regards to eviction - everybody still have to follow the law. With regards to investing in properties with pre-existing tenants..it depends right? Depends on how good the deal is.

@Gail K. I live in Atlanta currently so luckily I can be on-site potentially. Thank you for the suggestions - extremely helpful!

Hi BP,

I recently purchased a REO property in Georgia. The occupants who are currently living there I suspect are squatters. I've seen the house and it's a total mess. Police have frequented the property on many occasions for calls of domestic violence and burglary. Cops have also been inside the house and have witnessed signs of extremely unsanitary conditions: pet waste/urine around the house, you get the picture.. I've tried to make contact with the occupants and have asked for a lease. They took a few days to get the "lease." However, when I got my hands on it via e-mail - it was clearly a lease they had hastily fabricated. They probably found a random residential lease form on google and used it. Not to mention that the address was partially wrong in a few places, every line filled in had the exact same handwriting, and one of the "care for premises" clauses was clearly being violated.

Now during this entire process before I was aware of any lease, fabricated or not, I knew I had to get these people out just based on the unsanitary and unsafe conditions the property was in (what's worse is..I'm not sure what these people are thinking seeing as how they also have a young daughter residing on the premises..). So immediately the next morning, I filed a dispossessory affidavit on the basis of "squatters on premises" at the county magistrate and found out the same day that the sheriff had served them a personal notice to respond within 7 days.

A few days after service of the notice by the sheriff, the occupant emails me the "lease" I had mentioned earlier. Now clearly this is a lease that the occupant single handedly prepared herself, likely in hopes of staying on the property as long as possible before facing eviction.

Considering the 7-day countdown and the fact that I now have this fake lease - should I wait until their 7 days are up (and hope they don't submit a formal response) or should I take another course of action? (On the 8th day, assuming absence of a response to the court by the occupant, I can request signature on a writ of possession, which basically gives me the legal right to schedule time with the sheriff on-site for the removal of all their personal property from the house and potentially onto the front lawn aka actual eviction.) I've attempted cash for keys before they sent me the fake lease but they refused my offer.

Please provide your thoughts, comments and whether you would wait them out on the 7 days or take another course of action..

Is the lease even valid? Even if it's not, can fabrication be proven? and is it worth the effort/time?

Hi BP,

I recently purchased a REO property in Georgia. The occupants who are currently living there I suspect are squatters. I've seen the house and it's a total mess. Police have frequented the property on many occasions for calls of domestic violence and burglary. Cops have also been inside the house and have witnessed signs of extremely unsanitary conditions: pet waste/urine around the house, you get the picture.. I've tried to make contact with the occupants and have asked for a lease. They took a few days to get the "lease." However, when I got my hands on it via e-mail - it was clearly a lease they had hastily fabricated. They probably found a random residential lease form on google and used it. Not to mention that the address was partially wrong in a few places, every line filled in had the exact same handwriting, and one of the "care for premises" clauses was clearly being violated.

Now during this entire process before I was aware of any lease, fabricated or not, I knew I had to get these people out just based on the unsanitary and unsafe conditions the property was in (what's worse is..I'm not sure what these people are thinking seeing as how they also have a young daughter residing on the premises..). So immediately the next morning, I filed a dispossessory affidavit on the basis of "squatters on premises" at the county magistrate and found out the same day that the sheriff had served them a personal notice to respond within 7 days.

A few days after service of the notice by the sheriff, the occupant emails me the "lease" I had mentioned earlier. Now clearly this is a lease that the occupant single handedly prepared herself, likely in hopes of staying on the property as long as possible before facing eviction.

Considering the 7-day countdown and the fact that I now have this fake lease - should I wait until their 7 days are up (and hope they don't submit a formal response) or should I take another course of action? (On the 8th day, assuming absence of a response to the court by the occupant, I can request signature on a writ of possession, which basically gives me the legal right to schedule time with the sheriff on-site for the removal of all their personal property from the house and potentially onto the front lawn aka actual eviction.) I've attempted cash for keys before they sent me the fake lease but they refused my offer.

Please provide your thoughts, comments and whether you would wait them out on the 7 days or take another course of action..

Is the lease even valid? Even if it's not, can fabrication be proven? and is it worth the effort/time?

@Wayne Brooks But doesn't Obama's federal legislation "Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act of 2009" (PTFA) protect the "tenant"? And perhaps you are right..I should have not asked for a lease. The thing is I want them out as soon as possible and I don't wish to wait 2-3 months - think of the lost rent/opportunity cost, and likely probability of further property damage. But I see what you are saying if we go by the book. I'm thinking if the occupants object so much to the service, they'd follow procedure and formally file a hearing with the magistrate courts within the 7 day grace period. If for whatever reason they decide not to take any action, then I guess they're pretty much screwed/evicted?

@Account Closed I bought this REO through auction.com and from Chase Bank, the seller. In the sea of documentation they had me review and sign, it basically states that Chase would take no responsibility for anything, which includes handling existing tenants, condition of the property, getting the lease etc. I'm assuming in these types of deals, you as the buyer should know what you're getting yourself into (REOs, potentially deep discount, but higher risk venture) and the documents only legalize that fact. The police however, can attest to the poor sanitary condition of the house. Maybe I can get a statement from them if this situations escalates further?

To me from what I've read, at least in Georgia, it sounds like I can accelerate the eviction process by filing and starting proceedings right away with the dispossessory affidavit, and only having to wait 7 days or so to get them out. If they object, occupants can slow the process down by filing a rebuttal of their own.. If they don't object, they are pretty much evicted, assuming I immediately get the courts to sign a writ of possession, which I don't believe should be an issue. Correct me if I'm stating something inaccurate..

Hi BP, 

I recently purchased a REO property in Georgia. The occupants who are currently living there I suspect are squatters. I've seen the house and it's a total mess. Police have frequented the property on many occasions for calls of domestic violence and burglary. Cops have also been inside the house and have witnessed signs of extremely unsanitary conditions: pet waste/urine around the house, you get the picture.. I've tried to make contact with the occupants and have asked for a lease. They took a few days to get the "lease." However, when I got my hands on it via e-mail - it was clearly a lease they had hastily fabricated. They probably found a random residential lease form on google and used it. Not to mention that the address was partially wrong in a few places, every line filled in had the exact same handwriting, and one of the "care for premises" clauses was clearly being violated.

Now during this entire process before I was aware of any lease, fabricated or not, I knew I had to get these people out just based on the unsanitary and unsafe conditions the property was in (what's worse is..I'm not sure what these people are thinking seeing as how they also have a young daughter residing on the premises..). So immediately the next morning, I filed a dispossessory affidavit on the basis of "squatters on premises" at the county magistrate and found out the same day that the sheriff had served them a personal notice to respond within 7 days.

A few days after service of the notice by the sheriff, the occupant emails me the "lease" I had mentioned earlier. Now clearly this is a lease that the occupant single handedly prepared herself, likely in hopes of staying on the property as long as possible before facing eviction. 

Considering the 7-day countdown and the fact that I now have this fake lease - should I wait until their 7 days are up (and hope they don't submit a formal response) or should I take another course of action? (On the 8th day, assuming absence of a response to the court by the occupant, I can request signature on a writ of possession, which basically gives me the legal right to schedule time with the sheriff on-site for the removal of all their personal property from the house and potentially onto the front lawn aka actual eviction.) I've attempted cash for keys before they sent me the fake lease but they refused my offer.

Please provide your thoughts, comments and whether you would wait them out on the 7 days or take another course of action..

Is the lease even valid? Even if it's not, can fabrication be proven? and is it worth the effort/time?

You make very good points. Thanks for the insight!

In the state of Georgia, it looks like the requirement is you need 3 years of being an ACTIVE RE salesperson before you can qualify to apply for the RE brokers license. That said, is it possible for a part time RE agent with 3 years of experience to become a RE broker? Are there some who are part timers but find themselves obtaining a broker's license fairly easily? How strict is the state in enforcing the "active" requirement?