WI, Buying a hoarder house and Tenant has moved out

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WI, Buying a hoarder house and Tenant has moved out

Ken Collins
Lake Mills, WI · Member since 2015 · 6 posts · 1 vote

I am buying a house in Wisconsin to flip from Father whose son has lived in a house for 10 years with no written rental agreement and has never paid any rent but was supposed to.  The house is 2 feet deep with garbage including dog feces, dead mice, years of garbage, etc...  There is nothing that I would consider of value in the house, except a few hunting rifles, everything is garbage or ruined by the dog who was never let out of the house and did his business in every room on everything. The Son (tenant) can only be contacted occasionally when the father happens to call the right bar and he answers, otherwise, he never responds to any correspondence.  The father(seller) tells me that the son (tenant) has verbally told him he has moved out and is living with a friend.  When I buy the house the plan was to get a couple dumpsters and have it cleaned out starting the day I buy it. Do I need? should I get? something in writing from the father(seller) stating the house is vacant or the son (tenant) has moved out? do I have to hold on to anything of value in the house that is found for a period of time, like you would for a tenant who has left?

Looking forward to your opinions on this.

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Scott Schultz
Rental Property Investor · West Bend, WI · Member since 2015 · 931 posts · 598 votes
8y

I would want to get a statement from the father and son stating anything left behind after closing may be disposed of, and has no value, preferably signed and notarized  

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  • Scott Schultz
    Rental Property Investor · West Bend, WI · Member since 2015 · 931 posts · 598 votes
    8y

    I would want to get a statement from the father and son stating anything left behind after closing may be disposed of, and has no value, preferably signed and notarized  

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  • Steve Vaughan
    Rental Property Investor · East Wenatchee, WA · Member since 2014 · 10k+ posts · 16k+ votes
    8y

    Just goes to show how that which is not paid for is not appreciated.

    If the son is still there after/at closing, you may have to evict. Fun. Fun. Whatever you do, do not allow possession of any kind post-closing.  They can remove what they want to keep prior.

    I would watch the father or have the father watch me install new locks on my way to closing.  Then the father AND someone I trust would have to physically stay there and guard the house from this deadbeat while I went to closing.

    If that's not possible, I'd ask the closing agent to withhold funds after closing until I physically went over there to verify it was vacated.  You get the idea...

    1Reply
  • Nathan GesnerBusiness Member
    Moderator
    Real Estate Broker · Cody, WY · Member since 2010 · 28k+ posts · 41k+ votes
    8y

    Yes, get it in writing so there's no confusion or legal ramifications. If the son is still there, evict.

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  • Ken Collins
    OP
    Lake Mills, WI · Member since 2015 · 6 posts · 1 vote
    8y

    Thanks for the replies.  I have been to the house 5-6 times since I have had it under contract and have never seen the son(tenant) or signs of occupancy.  And, there is nowhere to sit on a chair or lay down on a bed due to the dog using them as a toilet. The son is too busy drinking to start a litigation or do anything else, but I wanted to avoid a claim that I disposed or took something of value.

    I think I will require the Father(seller) to provide me in writing that the house is unoccupied and that he understands the property left behind by his son has no value will be disposed of.

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  • John FranczykPro Member
    Wholesaler · Racine, WI · Member since 2015 · 143 posts · 84 votes
    8y

    The son may be too drunk to sue now, but if he sees money, he may sober up quickly. That said, as long as your contract specifies that you are buying the entire contents of the house (i.e. the personal property), you should be able to do whatever you want to do with that property, including using it to fill several 40-yard dumpsters. I did a house in Kenosha last year that filled several 40-yard dumpsters. The only thing the seller wanted was a few personal papers that we located in a corner of the basement. We had a contractual right to trash everything else. 

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  • Marcus Auerbach
    Investor · Milwaukee - Mequon, WI · Member since 2010 · 5k+ posts · 7k+ votes
    8y

    Hoarder houses are fun! I had 2 guys there for almost 2 weeks doing nothing but filling up dumpsters. Be prepared for a few surprises! 

    If you don't have an agent working on this just to doublecheck the obvious: make sure line 14 on your WB-11 Offer to Purchase (Inclusions) lists "all of Seller's personal property left behind at property", which is normally (default) listed on line 17 as an Exclusion. If you have a seperate agreement in place to cover personal property make sure these two lines don't contradict it.

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  • Marc Winter
    Real Estate Broker · Northeast PA · Member since 2017 · 2k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    8y

    Review your state's landlord/tenant law, and follow it. 

    Getting something in writing from the seller is great, however IMO a tenant could still sue current (you) owner if you mess with their mess, which creates quite a, well, mess.

    In PA, we have an 'abandoned property' notice, and it is posted on the door, giving tenant x-days to notify us and/or remove their personal property.  We take photos of the notice on door w that day's newspaper showing front page/date included in the photo.  We take photos of interior on same day.  

    After appropriate time, we clean it out. 

    BTW, if they leave the dog behind, call your municipal animal control and file animal cruelty-abandonment report on that tenant with your SPCA.  A tenant can choose to live like that; a dog has no choice.

    1Reply
  • Thomas S.
    Member since 2016 · 13k+ posts · 12k+ votes
    8y

    You must have something signed by the son. Nothing from the fauther will be sufficient to keep the son out after the sale. 

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