Eviction Of Previous Owners After Foreclosure Sale In Missouri

Osage Beach, Missouri
Foreclosures
1moFollow

Eviction Of Previous Owners After Foreclosure Sale In Missouri

Aaron HaringPro Member
Member since 2025 · 1 post · 1 vote

Hello,

I recently purchased a occupied home at a foreclosure auction in Missouri. All of the other homes that I have purchased at auction have been vacant. The previous owners are still living in the property and will not respond to any communication. There is a lot of info online for evicting tenants but not previous owners. Do the previous owners fall into tenant or squatter category? Is anyone familiar with this process and how it should be handled? I have drafted a letter to previous owner stating the property has been sold at public auction and to vacate premises. Do you think I should be sending the letter or just hire a lawyer? I purchased the home 2 days ago 7/27/26. 

1Reply
227 views

Most Popular Reply

Drew SygitBusiness Member
Property Manager · Royal Oak, MI · Member since 2012 · 12k+ posts · 9k+ votes
1mo
Quote from @Aaron Haring:

Hello,

I recently purchased a occupied home at a foreclosure auction in Missouri. All of the other homes that I have purchased at auction have been vacant. The previous owners are still living in the property and will not respond to any communication. There is a lot of info online for evicting tenants but not previous owners. Do the previous owners fall into tenant or squatter category? Is anyone familiar with this process and how it should be handled? I have drafted a letter to previous owner stating the property has been sold at public auction and to vacate premises. Do you think I should be sending the letter or just hire a lawyer? I purchased the home 2 days ago 7/27/26. 


No one really has a category for people occupying a home that aren't legal tenants.

Besides a former owner that lost their property to tax or mortgage foreclosure, there are als:

1) "Guests" that a tenant invited to live in the property who stay after the tenant moves out. 

2) People who got scammed by crooks posing as the owner and moving them in with a fake lease. 

Start an eviction for possession, NOT nonpayment. 

Highly recommend hiring an attorney for this as highly likely it will get ugly.
- Occupants may try to strip the property or trash it upon MoveOut or Sheriff removal:(

You need to know your legal protections.

[email protected]248-209-6824
Logical Property Management4.9450 Reviews
WebsiteView Page
3Reply
See this reply in the discussion

4 Replies

Jump to latestLatest
  • Janice Carter
    Real Estate Broker · Atlanta · Member since 2024 · 1k+ posts · 604 votes
    1mo

    @Aaron Haring Congratulations on your purchase. Since the occupants are the former owners rather than tenants, I would strongly recommend hiring a local real estate attorney familiar with Missouri foreclosure law before taking any action. 

    0Reply
  • Drew SygitBusiness Member
    Property Manager · Royal Oak, MI · Member since 2012 · 12k+ posts · 9k+ votes
    1mo
    Quote from @Aaron Haring:

    Hello,

    I recently purchased a occupied home at a foreclosure auction in Missouri. All of the other homes that I have purchased at auction have been vacant. The previous owners are still living in the property and will not respond to any communication. There is a lot of info online for evicting tenants but not previous owners. Do the previous owners fall into tenant or squatter category? Is anyone familiar with this process and how it should be handled? I have drafted a letter to previous owner stating the property has been sold at public auction and to vacate premises. Do you think I should be sending the letter or just hire a lawyer? I purchased the home 2 days ago 7/27/26. 


    No one really has a category for people occupying a home that aren't legal tenants.

    Besides a former owner that lost their property to tax or mortgage foreclosure, there are als:

    1) "Guests" that a tenant invited to live in the property who stay after the tenant moves out. 

    2) People who got scammed by crooks posing as the owner and moving them in with a fake lease. 

    Start an eviction for possession, NOT nonpayment. 

    Highly recommend hiring an attorney for this as highly likely it will get ugly.
    - Occupants may try to strip the property or trash it upon MoveOut or Sheriff removal:(

    You need to know your legal protections.

    [email protected]248-209-6824
    Logical Property Management4.9450 Reviews
    WebsiteView Page
    3Reply
  • Alex BekezaBusiness Member
    Lender · Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2018 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    1mo

    @Aaron Haring I had this same exact scenario.  I bought a house via auction (hubzu) in South City St. Louis and I had been through tenant evictions and made the false assumption removing the previous owner occupant would be as easy.  Well it turned out to be a completely different beast because just like your scenario this woman acted as if she was in complete denial of reality and what had occurred.  It took me about 6 months to get a Sheriffs eviction after I believe she failed to appear to 3 different court dates.  Each time she missed it would take a long time to reschedule.  At the end of the day, she still wasn't even in belief of what was happening when the Sheriffs showed up despite a mountain of mail that had been delivered to her.  At the end of the day, I offered a Uhaul and two sets of hands to help her get her stuff out but by the time they got there she left with nothing but the shirt on her back.  So strange. Mind you this is after several months of offering substantial cash for keys in Good Faith before getting lawyers involved. Long story short, I'd hire legal assistance immediately.  

    [email protected]818-606-8823
    Investor Property Loan5306 Reviews
    WebsiteView Page
    3Reply
  • Chad U.
    Investor · Boca Raton, FL · Member since 2012 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    1mo

    It's called an ejectment and have had to do this many many times over the years.  Unfortunately even though Missouri is a non-judicial state for the foreclosure process which is quick, it can actually take longer to remove the former owners. Like we're talking min of 6 months. Highly recommend hiring an attorney who's experienced in this process asap.

    1Reply
Join the conversationCreate a free account to reply, vote on answers and follow this thread.
Log InJoin for Free