Family can't move into house they bought

[tyecopeland]

Story involves covid eviction issue and California law so might end up in dc.

https://www.foxla.com/news/couple-bu...orium-loophole

Added article in spoiler for those who don't like clicking links.

Spoiler!

RIVERSIDE, Calif. - When Tracie and Myles Albert purchased a beautiful four bedroom house in Riverside, California they never realized that at the end of escrow the seller would suddenly refuse to give up the keys and leave.

"It’s just draining, emotionally and financially," says Tracie. On January 31, 2020, the couple purchased the home. More than a year later, they still haven’t been able get inside their property. Chris Taylor is the Real Estate Agent who sold the house to the Alberts from a man who wanted to sell immediately.

"He needed $560,000 from the sale of his house in two weeks and he called me on a Sunday, so in traditional real estate there's no way of doing that unless the buyer’s a cash buyer," says Taylor.

Since the house was free and clear and worth more than $560,000 the Alberts felt it was a great deal.


"It took us scrambling to get everything we had, our life savings put together and a hard money loan on top of it to make that happen," Myles stated.



During escrow they discovered there was a $30,000 tax lien on the house which slowed things down, but in the end, all parties signed on the dotted line and the sale was completed.

"We own the house, outright. That's our house and it's all in a contract, written, legal, done. He's been paid the money in his account. How could we have no rights to go into our home," asked Myles.

FOX 11 News tried to speak with the seller but when reporter Gina Silva knocked and announced herself, no one came to the door.

Taylor says, "It’s genuinely unfathomable to me that we live in a state where something like this is even possible. They closed escrow on this home January 31, 2020." The Alberts and Taylor have contacted authorities and tried to get the seller evicted but because of the pandemic, they’ve gotten nowhere.

"They have this case under a COVID tenant situation, of no evictions when it doesn't fall under that at all. This transaction went through in January 2020 before any of that, it isn't a renter who was getting thrown out. It's the guy who collected all of this money," stated Myles.


Eviction Attorney Dennis Block says, "This year alone, we’ve handled at least 7 maybe 8 cases of this exact type of situation."

He says people purchasing homes need to be extremely cautious, especially if they notice any red flags during the process. Block says what’s happening to the Alberts could happen to anyone.

"This person is not a tenant, it’s a previous owner who is enjoying the benefits of the money that was transferred to his account but of course doesn’t want to move out of the premises that he no longer owns," Block stated.

The Alberts filed an unlawful detainer but because of the California eviction moratorium, the case has been stalled. Time is simply passing by and the immaculate house they fell in love with is now becoming an eyesore.

Tracie says, "I tried watering the lawn one time and he came out and ripped my sprinkler lines, ripped all the wires. The Palm trees are dying, everything was beautiful and everything is dying."

Her frustrated husband says when he contacted law enforcement, they told him, "If you were in Arizona, if you were in Nevada, this wouldn't be a problem, you would just go take your house back. But in California, like our hands are tied, even though we're on your side, there's nothing we can do."

[Frazod]

Originally Posted by Bwana

That was my first thought as well. Any POS that would pull what the seller is doing, isn't going to give a damn about keeping up the house. The seller needs his ass kicked. I have mellowed out a little bit, but with that said, I would seriously go over and drag the deadbeat out of the house, if I were in this situation.

And end up in jail, and then get sued. And considering that it's Kalifornia, successfully. What a ****ing nightmare. Reminds me of psycho tenant in Pacific Heights.

[BWillie]

Originally Posted by Mecca

The problem with that is laws about this stuff don't favor who you think it should. Once it's established he lives there he has rights to live there and can draw you out for a long time.

In a lot of states it goes so far as that if you let a friend live in your house for a couple of weeks that's his established residence. He has renters rights and you can't just kick him out..think about that.

Yeah and its ridiculous.

[Fish]

Why couldn't they just wait for him to leave the residence, then break into their own house and throw his shit out?

[Frazod]

Originally Posted by dmahurin

Man, I close on my first house in the middle of April, this is a nightmare situation.

Back in the late 90s, my then-fiance/now wife worked for a title company in Chicago. The executives that ran the place were a bunch of weasels, and one day the feds swooped in, froze their accounts, and shut the whole operation down. Permanently. Not only did my wife lose her job, but it ended up that she worked the last two weeks for free, because she never got paid for them.

Of course, that's nothing compared to the people who were involved in closings that day at just the wrong moment. Old house sold, and then BOOM funds frozen, so they had to vacate their old home, but couldn't move into the new one because the purchase money was in legal limbo. IIRC this happened to two couples. Talk about getting ****ed.

I assume that eventually these people got their money released, but eventually was undoubtedly a long, long time.

Anyway, situations like this are extremely rare; like getting hit by lightning while being eaten by a shark. But you never know.

Good luck!

[T-post Tom]

You just know the inside of that house is going to be trashed when they finally get in. I know a couple that went through a similar issue. The person squatting claimed to be a non-citizen and not subject to the laws of the country. They finally got rid of him. But he stalked them for four years and they finally sold the property just to get away from the maniac. Frontier Justice might be the only hope of a fair resolution for the couple in this story. Just be smart about it.

[displacedinMN]

Originally Posted by T-post Tom

You just know the inside of that house is going to be trashed when they finally get in. I know a couple that went through a similar issue. The person squatting claimed to be a non-citizen and not subject to the laws of the country. They finally got rid of him. But he stalked them for four years and they finally sold the property just to get away from the maniac. Frontier Justice might be the only hope of a fair resolution for the couple in this story. Just be smart about it.

Home invasion.

You cannot be charged for breaking into your own home.

[Munson]

Originally Posted by displacedinMN

Home invasion.

You cannot be charged for breaking into your own home.

I'm sure Commiefornia has a law against that.

[Hammock Parties]

Originally Posted by T-post Tom

Frontier Justice might be the only hope of a fair resolution for the couple in this story. Just be smart about it.

I know a guy. But he's a bit of a loose cannon. Known to shoot household appliances first and ask questions later.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by Fish

Why couldn't they just wait for him to leave the residence, then break into their own house and throw his shit out?

I was thinking exactly the same thing this morning. As soon as you're inside the house and he's outside, then you claim that he vacated the premises and now California's laws work for you.

[Bwana]

Originally Posted by Frazod

And end up in jail, and then get sued. And considering that it's Kalifornia, successfully. What a ****ing nightmare. Reminds me of psycho tenant in Pacific Heights.

Probably but..........

[Frazod]

Originally Posted by Bwana

Probably but..........

Yep. No way I wouldn't end up in jail.

[Why Not?]

Originally Posted by LoneWolf

I get that they can’t force him to move out, but why can’t they move in? Just show up with moving trucks and have a moving company remove his shit and move their shit in. Make his life miserable.

Right! Start blaring loud music. Also, just start ****ing everywhere in the house. Maybe this dude gets uncomfortable and splits.

[Hoover]

I'd stalk the shit out of the house, and when he leaves I'd break in throw all his shit out.

What bull shit

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by Hoover

I'd stalk the shit out of the house, and when he leaves I'd break in throw all his shit out.

What bull shit

Yep. In truth, I bet the squatter is as shocked as anybody that he's managed to do it. If you come in with a baseball bat and common sense I bet you could get him out.

Of course, there's always the chance that he's a true paranoid schizophrenic and you'd end up dodging sniper shots for the next 20 years, too.

[T-post Tom]

Interesting that the recalcitrant seller’s name doesn’t seem to be published anywhere. If I were the buyer, I would quietly plaster the seller’s name everywhere. Turn up the heat.