The Occupants from Hell!
I am currently dealing with some occupants (who are no more than squatters) and getting them out so I can get in and start the rehab has been a daunting process. Typically, I get them out with cash for keys and it is never easy, but usually effective.
In this case, I purchased the property (practically stole it on price and terms)Feb 28th of this year and am still working on getting these morons out. I offered them $6k! for keys and they did not take it. I started eviction and they have used every tactic in the book to cause delays and extend the process. On the final hour before the summary judgement hearing, one of the two occupants filed for BK causing another 45 day or so delay. Unfortunately in CA, the laws, for some stupid reason, reside with occupants and not the legal owners. (I wont even get started on politics here!)
The good news is that I was able to have summary judgement against one of the occupants and already filed for the Sherriff to remove her from the premises. Should be within the next week or so for that. The kicker is that once it happens, her boyfriend still has rights to be there (until he is finally evicted) so I am quite sure she will just come right back. When that happens, I will make damn sure I make their lives as miserable as possible for the problems they have caused me. How can I do that legally you might ask? I will have periodic visits to the property and when I see she is there, I will call the Sherriff and inform them that she is illegally trespassing on my property and I want her removed/arrested. I will do this as many times as it takes until they get the point or until summary judgement against him occurs. Either way, screw them both!!! :roll:
What comes around goes around and theirs is coming.
***Update as of today 1-31-16: 5 years and 32 thread pages later, this is still ongoing. The following link was created by a BP Member in support of my situation found on page 32 of this thread. https://www.gofundme.com/OccupantsfromHell
This was approved by the heads of BP to be live in this thread. ***
I am sure I am not alone in wanting to know the final numbers on everything if you're willing to share attorney costs, full holding costs etc. Congrats on finally being able to move on. I hope it still ends up profitable for you in some capacity - even if it is just good karma for the future. You were definitely the bigger person and you should be proud of that. Great example for others dealing with rough situations.
WOW. Happy for you and you set an example how to deal with scumbags like this, classy.
Not everyone has the nerve, and yes you were always the bigger person in this saga.I pray for you to get a nice profit after all this years, but there is no money to compensate enough for all you have being through. Thank you for sharing.
Hey @Will Barnard, did you flip this thing yet? You might have to start doing HGTV shows at this pace... ;)
Congratulations.there is a brighter day
Sorry guys and gals, been off BP for awhile tending to this deal along with others. I promised pictures and have yet to organize that and upload to BP. I will do so soon.
As far as updates, I completed the rehab and the addition and got my final from the city. I listed the property on the MLS on 8-19-16 (about 3 weeks after my target date) and got a buyer under contract in 10 days! I am in a 30 day escrow now and look forward to putting this saga behind me.
Preliminarily, it appears like I will profit about $65k on the deal after paying for acquisition, almost 6 years holding costs, legal fees, and closing costs. This number does not take into consideration hundreds of sleepless nights, hundreds of days of blood pressure topping Mt Everest, or loss to opportunity costs. If you add all that in, it was a total loss, but on paper, will be a winner.
If ever there was a next time, I won't be so nice. . . .
Will,
I am so happy that this ended up on the plus side although clearly no nearly as profitable as it should have been (except for the lawyers).
Having gone through this ordeal, I have to wonder if the seller was 'in on it.' That she sold the property at an attractive price knowing that this "ex" would cause trouble and selling was the easiest way for her to extract herself from the issues.
Looking back, have you thought of specific (legal) action that you should have taken at various stages? I would have sent communications to the judges in this case to forewarn each that this was a complicated, tangled web ... not just a 15 minute case that the judge can read and decide from the bench. I'm not a lawyer nor do I know if such communication, even if worded NOT to convey any details of the case is allowed. Clearly at least one of the judges dropped to ball.
Kevin
WoW! Congrats to you and your family for all of this patience. You really need to write a book about this.
Originally posted by @Khadijah Celestine:
WoW! Congrats to you and your family for all of this patience. You really need to write a book about this.
I thought I did right here! LOL
@Will Barnard - I just read this thread from start to finish. An unbelievable journey and such a cautionary tale and a learning tool for newer investors like myself. Thank you for taking the time to document this journey. I'm glad that you've come out victorious at the end of it all. Congratulations! I will be eagerly waiting for the photos from the rehab. Thanks again for sharing!
Some photos as promised, better late than never as exercised in this thread!
Looks Great!
Some of the during construction photos:
awesome!!
Great pics, @Will Barnard! It looks gorgeous!
Originally posted by @Will Barnard:
Some of the during construction photos:
Will:
Why the mixture of OSB and plywood sheeting on the roof {what's the motivation / strategy}?
Originally posted by @Rob Anderson:
@Will Barnard Please update? When is sheriff eviction? What steps are we taking to make sure this guy stays homeless? Consider posting in the paper warning others of him. Lord help the landlord that gets this cockroach when he leaves your house.
You mean you guys are following people around, kicking them out of their house, sounds like he has as much claim to it as this flipper...he did state out front that he "practically stole it". Did you catch that? And now you want to "insure their homelessness"? What makes the so called "squatter" any more wrong than the admitted crook? ...And he was bragging about it.
...And he is taking donations?
I can assure the Lord isn't fooled.
Originally posted by @Bill Buzzell:
You mean you guys are following people around, kicking them out of their house, sounds like he has as much claim to it as this flipper...he did state out front that he "practically stole it". Did you catch that? And now you want to "insure their homelessness"? What makes the so called "squatter" any more wrong than the admitted crook? ...And he was bragging about it....And he is taking donations?
I can assure the Lord isn't fooled.
It is unfortunate that the Lord doesn't enforce the "Thou Shalt Not Steal" part of his commandments. When did they become recommendations? It's funny how the guy who bought a home from an owner was not allowed to enter that home for so many years because of this thief. THAT is what makes the "so called squatter" more wrong.
Originally posted by @Bill Buzzell:
You mean you guys are following people around, kicking them out of their house, sounds like he has as much claim to it as this flipper...he did state out front that he "practically stole it". Did you catch that? And now you want to "insure their homelessness"? What makes the so called "squatter" any more wrong than the admitted crook? ...And he was bragging about it.
...And he is taking donations?
I can assure the Lord isn't fooled.
Bill, seriously? Did you actually read the entire thread?
The ability to read and comprehend more than a sentence or two at a time is apparently a dying art.
cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs
@Will Barnard Congrats on evicting those bad people out, in the end you did profit and i hope this experience made you a better investor. I live in NYC and both LA and NYC are a tenants favor city in which here would have probably taken the same time frame. I learn from reading your post to never buy a property with tenants/occupants living there because being a military veteran i have no patients.
Originally posted by @Roy N.:
Originally posted by @Will Barnard:Some of the during construction photos:
Will:
Why the mixture of OSB and plywood sheeting on the roof {what's the motivation / strategy}?
The city inspector was fine with it so the motivation was saving money and using scraps.
Originally posted by @Bill Buzzell:
Originally posted by @Rob Anderson:@Will Barnard Please update? When is sheriff eviction? What steps are we taking to make sure this guy stays homeless? Consider posting in the paper warning others of him. Lord help the landlord that gets this cockroach when he leaves your house.
You mean you guys are following people around, kicking them out of their house, sounds like he has as much claim to it as this flipper...he did state out front that he "practically stole it". Did you catch that? And now you want to "insure their homelessness"? What makes the so called "squatter" any more wrong than the admitted crook? ...And he was bragging about it.
...And he is taking donations?
I can assure the Lord isn't fooled.
I suspect this is just another troll attempt. I don't usually bite anymore but this thread is quite popular and I certainly don't want anyone getting the wrong idea (anyone being everyone else but the troll who already has the wrong idea).
I am not doing anything to "keep the squatter homeless" or following him around for that matter, he does just fine staying homeless on his own. My comment when I first bought this home of "practically stealing it" is of course, just a figure of speech, duh. At the time, the purchase price was good for me and it was good for the seller as she was getting rid of a large pain in her rear and I was taking it on for the lower price. This is the essence of real estate investors - finding a motivated seller willing to sell at a discount so the seller gets rid of their problem and the buyer can make some money, also called capitalism, not a crime. That turned out to be much more than I bargained for as evidenced by my story that you obviously did not read or understand in full. I have no idea if the Lord is fooled or not, I do know you have no clue as to what you are talking about. Have a nice day. . . .
Pretty evident Bill hasn't read the whole thread nor does he understand what was going on here. The squatter was committing fraud and pulled every trick in the book to remain on a property he had no right to be on. There's a time and place to be charitable and help out our fellow man, but guys like the one Will had to deal with are not worthy of anyone's charity.
I came here because I am a professional contractor looking for people to do business with. Why do I want to read 33 pages of people huddled around like they are at a **** fight with you all gathering all the donations?
Which of you have anointed themselves as the one who decides who is worthy of charity and who is not. Who do you make yourself?