All Forum Posts by: Derek W.

About once a day someone posts the same question you just did. Use the search tool to look for your answer. It's been discussed many, many times. 

If you're a newbie can I ask why you are starting with probate?

not sure what your local laws are, but cmon! Your house is filled with sewer water and you're not bending over back wards to accommodate your tenants by getting a hotel room? Have you looked up the definition of slum  Lord in the dictionary lately? Glad I'm not renting  from you. Step up and do the right thing. 

@Daniel Moreno this is perhaps the single most asked question on bigger pockets. I have a few questions for you. 

1. Did you use the search function and search for your question before posting?

2. If you are new to investing, why are you choosing probate as your niche? 

@Account Closed I stand corrected. It was apparently me who misread the post. Sorry. 

In 10 years of dealing with squatters, even the felon , druggie type, I've never had the police remove them without an eviction. Unless we aren't getting the whole story, they are certainly treading in waters I've never encountered. 

@Tina Garcia when you say your efforts were to no avail, does that mean an heir has stepped forward and laid claim to the property? If so, are they a valid heir?

@Account Closed I think you may have misread the OPs post. She didn't get tossed out by police. The police came and just as many of us have experienced, determined it a civil matter to be left for the courts to decide, and left. That's where it gets fun and why I'm disappointed others have offended our OP so we won't get updated. Now the alleged heir needs to go through the property procedure to prove ownership and begin eviction on squatter. If they don't have the sufficient authority, the squatter will remain in possession. 

There are local laws and ordinances to guard against that. If a hack mechanic begins stripping the car, I call local authorities to intervene as they are violating local laws. This is akin to the squatters in my rental. They are claiming to be "enacting their squatters rights" but are ignorant of what that really means. There are unlawful detainer laws protecting me. 

But if you are trying to make the connection between a mechanical hack who doesn't know how to do it right, and a newbie investor who doesn't know how to do AP correctly, again local laws with soon  intervene and remedy the situation to the rightful owner. 

To continue the analogy of the car, an operational car legally parked on the city street with current tags (registration) cannot be towed just because I don't want it there. That would be a civil matter between me (home owner) and car owner. That is why I mentioned earlier that I have two properties currently occupied with squatters. Because I am current on my taxes and have title to the properties, I can do a common unlawful detainer (eviction) and have them removed. A pain? Yes. Costs me money? Yes. Am I in danger of losing my house? No. 

Take that same car covered in cob webs, expired tags, and it will get towed. The house next door to my rental is boarded up and has been abandoned for years. It's ugly, it's got faded code violation notices stapled to it, years of unkept weeds. It's an eye sore in the neighborhood, affects my properties rentability, and attracts the wrong type of people.  I have made many attempts to find someone attached to ownership of any capacity and have had no luck. After I get the results back from the private investigator, I may pull the boards off the Windows, fix it up, pay the taxes, and rent it out

I guarantee no one living on that street will be upset that I "stole" a house. In fact, I know they will be thrilled and perhaps bring me a glass of cold lemonade. 

@Account Closed "theft, even when legal is still theft" uh...NO. 

Let's use an analogy to understand better. In front of your house, parked against the curb, is a car. It's a decent car and still has many miles left on it. But it's been parked there a long time and needs some work. It's covered in dust and cob webs. You would really appreciate the owners moving it so you can have guest parking back in front of your house, and get rid of the neighborhood eye sore. You go door to door and can't find its owner. You leave a note on it, but no one claims it. There it sits. You can't sell it because you don't own it and don't have the pink slip. Someone comes along with deep understanding of car  title and knows how to get the pink slip in their name and offers to tow  it away and fix it up at their expense. They do this and you are so relieved to have this neighborhood problem gone. My question to you...Did they steal the car?

The OP doesn't need any connection to the property other than knowing that an heir can't be found, and no-one seems to be stepping forward to claim the house. It appears from reading the thread that a possible heir has stepped forward. Now it gets interesting. Are they simply another third party trying their hand at AP, or a legitimate heir? If our OP would have stayed with her thread, we could have watched and learned as we went along with her on her journey.