Investor · USA · Member since 2019 · 117 posts · 57 votes
Bought a property at foreclosure auction. Previous owner doesn't want to leave. Followed all the legal steps to no avail. Now, it's time to appear in front of the Judge and ask for a writ of possession. If you know the process or have been through it. Any advice? Cheers!
Bring all of your documents. Have them organized. Proof the occupant was notified and served per state law. Be prepared to answer any questions. Be professional, it’s not personal it’s business. Only state the facts when asked questions. Opinions are only relevant when the judge asks for them.
Bring all of your documents. Have them organized. Proof the occupant was notified and served per state law. Be prepared to answer any questions. Be professional, it’s not personal it’s business. Only state the facts when asked questions. Opinions are only relevant when the judge asks for them.
UPDATE: Thank you for the suggestions. I got judgement of immediate possession in my favor. The other party did not show up. For those who may find themselves in a similar position & need some tips:
I had filed the correct paperwork for my state at the right time. I missed no letters or words on the forms. In addition, I took copies of the documents for the judge to attach in court files. I was on time. Dressed properly, remained calm, & paid attention to instructions.
Finally, after I got the judgement. I filed a writ of possession & now have to wait until the Sheriff calls me to schedule an eviction. Cheers!
Make sure you know how long you have to keep his possessions for.
In my case, since the past owner was on site during the eviction, the clock started ticking.
If he wasn’t there when the deputies arrived, I would have had to mail or deliver a notice to him telling him he had x amount of days to claim his items.
Make sure you know how long you have to keep his possessions for.
In my case, since the past owner was on site during the eviction, the clock started ticking.
If he wasn’t there when the deputies arrived, I would have had to mail or deliver a notice to him telling him he had x amount of days to claim his items.
Doing it through a lawyer is the safest option as long as your lawyer is honest & fair with you & isn't out to break your bank & make things sound more complicated than they are just to scare you & keep charging you. I thought I could handle it myself because I am a pre-law student & wanted to save the money. If you're good at interpreting legal language, the laws & codes for your state can be researched online or at a local law school library.
In my state (Virginia) the time limit for holding possessions is 24 hours & you can even place it outside on the curb but after the time passes, you must trash it or keep it.
Now you have to wait 3-4 weeks depending on how long the deputy sits on the writ. Altogether in 3 counties so far it takes about 1.5 months to evict someone in virginia. After they serve the writ, the person or family being evicted has 72 hours to get everything out and you enter with the deputy to change the locks. The evicted family then has 24 hours to get whatever else they want but you have to let them in. Then the house if finally yours to flip. Been there many times.
I am going through the same thing. Already went to the hearing at JP court with my RE agent (who is only helping since she was the listing agent and the mom of my son's friend). Tenant didn't show up. But then appealed 4 days later. She now has until next Monday 7/8 to deposit 1 month rent into court registry. If she doesn't, then I can file for writ of possession the next day. But If she does, then it means we will have to go to higher court. Many on this site suggest me to hire an attorney if we have to go to higher court. But just like you said, I fear a lawyer might not be honest and fair and might only try to make it more complicated to get more money out of us. My RE agent thinks the same and offers to help (for free) so I can skip the lawyer and save money. She thinks we have a strong case (tenant has been paying super late every month for 8 months that she has been in the house even though she makes $6400/month and rent is only $1700/month. I still don't see payments for June or July yet - well, I told her I don't accept late payment anymore at beginning of June, then filed for eviction). However, she has never done this before and only been trying to reach out to her fellow RE agents for info.
So my point is, I can't decide whether I should hire a lawyer so just go to higher court with my agent. In your opinion do you think I will have a good shot if I just go with my agent and not hire a lawyer?
I am going through the same thing. Already went to the hearing at JP court with my RE agent (who is only helping since she was the listing agent and the mom of my son's friend). Tenant didn't show up. But then appealed 4 days later. She now has until next Monday 7/8 to deposit 1 month rent into court registry. If she doesn't, then I can file for writ of possession the next day. But If she does, then it means we will have to go to higher court. Many on this site suggest me to hire an attorney if we have to go to higher court. But just like you said, I fear a lawyer might not be honest and fair and might only try to make it more complicated to get more money out of us. My RE agent thinks the same and offers to help (for free) so I can skip the lawyer and save money. She thinks we have a strong case (tenant has been paying super late every month for 8 months that she has been in the house even though she makes $6400/month and rent is only $1700/month. I still don't see payments for June or July yet - well, I told her I don't accept late payment anymore at beginning of June, then filed for eviction). However, she has never done this before and only been trying to reach out to her fellow RE agents for info.
So my point is, I can't decide whether I should hire a lawyer so just go to higher court with my agent. In your opinion do you think I will have a good shot if I just go with my agent and not hire a lawyer?
From what you’re telling me. I’d look into the legal services/mediation that your local courthouse provides. Usually, their legal fees are less expensive than private attorneys & they do this all day. So, they’ll take care of it efficiently. Mediation also works when the other party is present at the court & decides to negotiate with you in the presence of a neutral 3rd party who is a mediator. My case was a foreclosure that was occupied. I had no rental agreement but if you have a rental agreement you should be able to get the tenant out fairly quickly. Even if you don’t have an agreement, from what you’re explaining, you should be able to get possession of your property. Make sure you sue the other party for your legal costs, expenses, lost wages and any emotional distress that you experienced. Good luck, you’ll get through it, don’t worry!
@Rehaan Khan thanks so much for the input. She paid the 1 month rent into court registry yesterday so we have to go to higher court now. I will see an attorney for consultation on how to proceed from here and to make sure all papers I filed are correct, and probably will go through this by myself. Will decide after talking to an attorney.