Posted on 07/06/2017 2:38:08 PM PDT by nickcarraway
A Cobb County woman is filled with frustration after she says strangers moved into the vacant house she was selling without her knowledge.
Getting them out is tougher than you might think.
Channel 2's Ross Cavitt talked to both sides of this problem and found out important information for homeowners.
Dena Everman couldn't believe it and can't believe the situation she is in.
After finding someone living in her home, and a broken window in the back, she assumed a quick call to the police would clear out the trespassers.
"I found out in the past week there is some archaic law that says if someone sets up residence in your home, it doesn't matter how they get in there they have rights until we evict them,” Everman said.
She says the family found it listed for rent on Craigslist, they signed a lease by fax, paid their rent via money order, never saw the ad poster and only learned there was a problem when Everman called the police.
The next day she went to the courthouse where she says deputies told her she could stay.
"And they told us until these people come and forcibly evict us they can't force us out on our rights," Pritchett said.
Pritchett says the family is looking for another place to move, but admits for now they're staying.
"We're not just trying to stay in your home and hold you up on your sale. But at the same time, we just spent $3,000 -- that's not something we can just pull out and immediately move somewhere else, you know,” Pritchett said.
Everman is mad, she may lose the pending sale on her house, and tells me her posts on her situation have generated anger.
"Outrage. Everybody doesn't understand why someone who has no legal right to be in my home can stay in my home and I'm the one who has to evict them,” Everman said.
A lawyer who handles these cases told Cavitt that in real estate, possession really is nine-tenths of the law and the homeowner will have to go through the painful eviction process, which could take four to six weeks.
If that was me, they’d be gone by noon on friday
Some fraudster.
They should return the money, since the owner apparently didn’t authorize the sale.
Not likely.
To make it legit, have CNN report it.
You’re reading it wrong. The people who moved in said they paid $3,000. I’ve read these things before. It’s a scam. And it will cost the home owner. If they had a paid lease, they would have gotten a key, and not smashed in a window for entrance. Who does that?
In real estate possession may be 9\10 of the law but a Ruger P89 held to the head is instant eviction. Never call the cops to do a job you can do or pay a gangbanger $200 to do.
Maybe she could hire some very large squatters to move in and make it undesirable ...
The fellow who bought the house next to mine took pity on an abandoned mother with a one year old child and let her stay in the house until he was ready to sell it. He found out later that he could not make a mother with child leave due to state laws and he had to keep paying for her utilities as well as fix stuff she broke. Charity must be tempered by certain wisdom and knowledge of the relevant laws. The woman stayed there for over a year. I don’t know where she went but she decamped in the middle of the night like she was skipping out on the rent she never had to pay.
It’s called a “shotgun”.
L
I'm still on the scammee's side here. Adverse possession and squatters rights come from Great Britain's Common Law, which our system is based on. The premise is, if you own land or a dwelling, you should be aware enough of what is going on with your property that a squatter cannot accumulate several years of using the property unopposed, which would grant the squatter outright ownership. America took this law and dialed both concepts down for rental law: The required time period is usually 30 days, and there is no transfer of ownership, but there is a legal requirement of eviction.
Here’s a scam that almost happened to me. I saw a house for rent on Craig’s list. I needed a short term rental while visiting another city. I decided to look it up on Zillow and saw it was listed for sale. I contacted the person who would rent this to me and said its for sale but it’s not selling so he’s willing to rent it while it’s for sale. I thought that was strange. Then he wanted the money wired direct to his bank account. He gave me all the bank numbers etc so I went to the bank and they looked up his account and told me no you don’t want to do business with this guy. Scam!! Glad I asked the bank and they told me that. So be careful with Craig’s list .
She says the family found it listed for rent on Craigslist,
they signed a lease by fax, paid their rent via money order,
never saw the ad poster and only learned there was a problem
when Everman called the police.
***************
This needs to be explained.
Cash for keys can be cheaper than an eviction, even if the ‘tenants’ are there illegally.
There is that. Smashing the windows is a little over the top. I expect you could reasonably charge the squatters with vandalism straight away, and get a conviction, since they admitted it.
If the “faxed” lease was not signed by the home owner, then (a) they did not have a completed and signed lease, in other words they did not have a contract to “possess” the house, (b) whether or not - without the owner’s signature on the lease - they sent in money for rent and security deposit. Under such conditions, I don’t see how possession in those circumstances trumps illegal trespass without the owner’s acknowledgement.
However, did the owner receive and cash the money orders the tenant-applicants sent in? If the owner did, THAT may constitute implied acceptance of the lease-application.
There seems to be too much info missing.
What state is THAT?!? Some liberal state, no doubt. In Georgia, you can evict a whole family of one-year-olds in 4-6 weeks.
Makes me think of the movie, “Pacific Heights”.
Under Georgia law, there is something called an Eviction Warrant that can be issued by the Sheriff as soon as it is signed by a judge. It can be quick if done properly.
We had squatters next door, lots of them, probably 25 went through. Drugs, porn, needles, filth piled high. Took months to get them out. Thought I’d be killed. 13 cop cars finally showed up.
I told the ring leader “don’t make me go Gran Turino on you”. He asked “is that a threat?”. I told him “No, it’s just a movie suggestion”.
The trick is to cut their hotwired power/water/phone. Once they do that stuff you can get the power company out as a health hazard.
They have to go outdoors sometimes. Id sleep in my car waiting.Then go in and STAY with gun and deed in hand.
They have to go outdoors sometimes. Id sleep in my car waiting.Then go in and STAY with gun and deed in hand.
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