Getting liability insurance on auction property before previous owner is evicted
Hi All,
I have not gone down the path of auctions in the past and there is one near me that is currently occupied and will be auctioned off in the next few weeks. I am interested in bidding on it and as a part of my research I have seen a lot on what process it would take to get the previous owner out of the house. I'd start with cash for keys but if that didn't work, seems like it may take 3-4 months to evict a person, my big question is getting liability insurance on the property.
I get that there isn't much I can do preventing the previous owner from trashing the place (she is 60+ so I doubt she's taking a hammer to the place) but I do worry that if she or someone else were to get hurt prior to an eviction and sues me.
Can you get insurance on a property under these conditions?
another question - anything stopping a person from leaving the water running, not nessesarilly to dammage the property but to run up a bill?
thanks in advance for your advice
#2 Foreclosures Contributor
- Paradise, CA
your insurance should be a standard landlord's policy. I don't see why someone pending eviction versus someone paying rent would have any impact on your policy.
I don't see anything stopping a person from leaving the water running, to run up a bill or to damage a property. You could say, "Please don't leave the water running" but outside of that, not sure what else you can do, even when the bill is in your name, if you have a tenant, paying rent or not.
ok further along in the process...
I was the high bidder at the bank auction and I have approached the person and offered her cash for keys and she doesn't want money and seems to want to max out time before being evicted.
in meeting the her, she appears to have had a hard life and does not appear to be in great mental health and might have a current or past addiction.
I'm curious here, If I proceed with the sale and go down the path of evicting the person, I am not as much worried about them dammaging the property but somehow hurting themself and trying sue me.
How do I protect myself from being sued? should I do an LLC to do a stop loss?
can one get homeowner's insurance with liability protection?
I get that the courts wouldn't let me inside the house to maintain, but would they let me maintain outside with snowshoveling / sanding walkways?
#2 Foreclosures Contributor
- Paradise, CA
is she the previous owner? if she is, she has no tenant rights and can be evicted quickly (on a Federal level, state or local level may have different rules). If she is not the previous owner, she'll get the remainder of a bonafide lease if she pays or, 90 days if she doesn't.
Nothing is going to stop you from being sued if someone is intent on suing you. Insurance makes a suit less painful. Hazard policies typically include a liability addendum.
this situation seems to be working out for me. I went and tried to talk to her again and she was much more lucid. She agreed to cash for keys but wanted a bit more time, my attorney worked with the bank and was able to push out the close.
Today I went to present the contract the the lawyer drew up for cash for keys and the person now wants to get out earlier and is looking to push the date up.
a good friend of mine had a saying, every now and again the sun shines on a Dog's A$$.
it was sunny today.........