Cayuga Squatter Story

Here is how to get squatters out of your house:

We had a seller contact us who said he wanted to sell a rental property he had owned for over a decade. He was an extremely busy lineman, working 80-90 hours a week, and did not have time to manage a rental property due to his demanding job.

To his knowledge, the property had been vacant for years, awaiting a renovation that he did not get around to completing. He hadn’t been there in years either, since he lived in the next town over. He gave us permission to go by the property, which we did, and to our surprise, someone was outside watering the grass when we drove by.

We immediately called him, and asked him if he had made a mistake, and knew of anyone who may be living at the property. He once again confirmed that the property was supposed to be vacant. We asked him if he was OK having local law enforcement escort us to the front door to figure out who the occupant was, he said yes.

The next day, we had the non-emergency Tampa Police escort us to the front door. When we knocked, a person answered. We asked them if they had a lease agreement with the owner, to which they exclaimed: “no! I’m squatting here!” They even showed us their ID to prove who they were.

I was quite surprised they were so blunt. The police officer asked how long the squatter had been at the property, the squatter said “five years, and I got two more until I can take the house via adverse possession!”

At this point the police officer looked at me, and I looked back at him. I was a bit dumbfounded, it seemed we had a professional squatter on our hands. Plain and simple, I asked her if she would leave for any amount of money, via “cash for keys”...she said “absolutely not”. I then told her that is OK, and that we’d have an attorney file for eviction. She screamed back “then I’ll quiet title against you!”

After that, the police officer and I left. I called the homeowner on the way home, and told him about the squatter situation. We both agreed that an eviction would be the best route, and that I would front him the money for it, as long as I was reimbursed at closing. He said that was fine.

We used the best attorney I knew, Martinez Law. She explained that since the squatter never had a valid lease with the homeowner/landlord, we’d be filing an “unlawful detainer”, which is similar to an eviction, however we’d be in a better position to get the squatter out.

The squatter was vicious. She responded to everything filed in court. It took eight long months to get the signed final judgment against her. On the day that the sheriff served the writ of possession, the squatter had already abandoned the home. They knew their time was coming to an end, and ran.

After our locksmith changed out the deadbolt, we had our crews move any belongings of hers to the curb. Her relatives came and gathered the items, and notified us that she had moved into one of their homes, and was safe and sound. Our crews continued to clean out the house and prepare it for renovations.

The next week, we closed on the property. Closing was at noon, and by 4pm the seller received his cash funds via wire transfer from the title company. The seller was beyond happy that his squatter issue was solved, and said that he’d never own a rental property again!