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."

[KCUnited]

We've always tossed around the idea of keeping a condo in Chicago after we relocate our primary residence within the next 3-5 years. With money cheap and a surplus in downtown, its very tempting now. Currently there's 3bd/2ba for under 400 and 2bd/2ba in the 200-300s happening now for downtown properties.

They go quickly but it seems like a limited opportunity to get in as the 2020 dust is still settling.

[displacedinMN]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

I like watching those shows on HGTV where people are shopping from homes in different cities. There'll sometimes be comments made like, "this is open space so there'll never be houses there".

I don't trust those statements. Things change all the time. Unless it's a national park, and maybe even then, it just takes a vote of a random council or committee to change things.

On that same note, it just takes a vote to eliminate our historic district around our house. I hope it'll be around for my lifetime at a minimum, but it wouldn't shock me if some powerful developer eventually screws the district over.

There is an area in Plymouth, MN that is a golf course. Wont be for much longer. It has been sold to a developer. People are trying to stop it but I dont think they will have any luck.
I can think of three golf courses that are now gone. A friend is living on the 4th hole of one he used to golf. The one I work at still going strong. I am sure the city gets approached about it ALL THE TIME.

But our current mayor is a golfer and lives next to it. If it survives another 20 years it will be amazing.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by Hammock Parties

Gonna need some deets here.

I recently caught some sellers who turned out to be pretty untrustworthy IMO.

"We cleaned the sewer line. It looks good!"

Plumber: "Yeah this is going to cost you $6k to fix."

This may be silly, but if you're thinking of buying in an area that's anywhere close to commercial area or busy street, you might consider a quick call to the county planning office to just ask if there are any long-term changes that might happen. They're generally friendly people who don't mind talking to the public, and you can find out if there's an application for a sex offender home or a big apartment complex or a road widening. They won't know everything but they often know if something big is happening.

It's probably not necessary if you're looking at a place that's buried in the middle of a subdivision surrounded by similar homes, but as noted earlier if you're overlooking a golf course or an open space, it doesn't hurt to ask if it's going to be gone in a year.

I had a relative who bought a restaurant once, and he didn't do this. A few months after he made the purchase, a major road widening project started and made it a huge hassle to get to his restaurant. It was a disaster. I figure the seller knew about it, which was why he sold.

[Halfcan]

Originally Posted by tredadda

Man I hope you are wrong on that. No good can come from that economically. The last time we had a huge rash of foreclosures the market tanked.

On another note why would there be a rash of foreclosures when people are getting into loans at low rates? The last crash if I remember correctly had people financing at much higher rates. It would lead me to believe that with people locking in low rates they would be more able to afford their loan long-term.

It is not just about rates with the scenarios people are posting about. Paying 5 to 20% more than an already inflated ask price also includes Taxes and Insurance at that higher price. That is a lot of money over a 15-30 year note.

As far as inspections- any Realtor worth his credentials would not let a buyer do this, even in new construction. Inspectors get paid for a reason. The inspection report also gives leverage to the buyer to get the most serious things credited or fixed before closing.

Anyone who thinks this new Real Estate model is sustainable must have forgotten the last crash.

[Halfcan]

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

People are dropping $1+ million dollars cash all over Los Angeles, without inspections and without appraisals because the interest rates are so cheap that investors can put a couple hundred thousand into them and rent them out for $6k-8k per month all day long.

This is a good example of where the country is headed. Super rich elite at the very top gobbling up every asset, 2nd tier wealthy millionaires, a shrinking middle class, and an enormous population of poor.

Real Estate is like any ecosystem- it takes all levels to stay healthy.

The poor and lower middle class have to have a way to get out of the rentals and move into starter-type homes with other first-time buyers. First-time buyer programs are amazing and essential. Lower cost FHA and VA loans as well.

These previous 1st timers need to build equity to move to the nicer neighborhoods- which then let retired folks cash out or continue to move up to gated communities.

Right now the fixer-upper/starter homes are getting bought by major investment firms and turned into expensive rentals. This will eventually put negative pressure all the way up the ladder.


The last crash happened mostly because all the First-time buyer money dried up and banks started demanding vast amounts down. It sent ripples throughout the markets. Along with high unemployment, the stock market crash wiping out retirement funds, and ridiculous hyperinflation- it was the perfect storm.

[Lzen]

Originally Posted by Halfcan

...The last crash happened mostly because all the First-time buyer money dried up and banks started demanding vast amounts down....

There's more to it than that, but this is what was the root cause:

The stock market crashed in 2008 because too many had people had taken on loans they couldn’t afford. Lenders relaxed their strict lending standards to extend credit to people who were less than qualified. This drove up housing prices to levels that many could not otherwise afford.


Easy credit and raising home prices resulted in a speculative real estate bubble. While the market crashed in 2008, the problem started years earlier.

In the late 90s, the Federal National Mortgage Association, or Fannie Mae as it’s commonly known, began its crusade to make home loans accessible to borrowers with a lower credit score.

Fannie Mae wanted everyone to attain the American dream of homeownership, regardless of credit. Lenders who extended home loans to high-risk borrowers offered mortgages with unconventional terms to reflect the increased likelihood of default.

The relaxed lending standards fueled the housing growth and corresponding rise in home values. People with bad credit and little-to-no savings were offered loans they could not afford. Meanwhile, banks were repackaging these mortgages and selling them to investors on the secondary market.

While housing prices continued to increase, the rising subprime mortgage market thrived. Because house values rose so quickly, the increase in home equity offset the bad debt buildup. If a borrower defaulted, banks could foreclose without taking a loss on the sale.

The resulting seller’s market meant that if homeowners couldn’t afford the payments, they could sell the house and the equity would cover the loss.

A crisis was virtually inevtiable. Once the housing market slowed down in 2007, the housing bubble was ready to burst.

https://www.wealthsimple.com/en-us/l...8-market-crash

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by Halfcan

This is a good example of where the country is headed. Super rich elite at the very top gobbling up every asset, 2nd tier wealthy millionaires, a shrinking middle class, and an enormous population of poor.

Real Estate is like any ecosystem- it takes all levels to stay healthy.

The poor and lower middle class have to have a way to get out of the rentals and move into starter-type homes with other first-time buyers. First-time buyer programs are amazing and essential. Lower cost FHA and VA loans as well.

These previous 1st timers need to build equity to move to the nicer neighborhoods- which then let retired folks cash out or continue to move up to gated communities.

Right now the fixer-upper/starter homes are getting bought by major investment firms and turned into expensive rentals. This will eventually put negative pressure all the way up the ladder.


The last crash happened mostly because all the First-time buyer money dried up and banks started demanding vast amounts down. It sent ripples throughout the markets. Along with high unemployment, the stock market crash wiping out retirement funds, and ridiculous hyperinflation- it was the perfect storm.

The first crash happened because homebuyers and banks were drawing up loans neither of them could afford.

I used to consult for a very large lender. They took billions in losses because they decided it was a good idea to lend mortgages to people that had zero means to pay them off.