Re: Eviction process- unlawful detainer complaint

Re: Eviction process- unlawful detainer complaint by Garry on July 3, 2019 @17:48

?????? Your first sentence says the person has refused to leave. Your next to last sentence says the person isn't living in the property. Which is it? Please explain. You purchased a bank-owned property. If it was easy to get someone out, don't you think the bank would have done that BEFORE they decided to sell it? A bank has several lawyers at their disposal, who do this for a living. So WHY is the person still in there?? They could probably have gotten more for the home if it was vacant.

But that's water over the dam. YOU own it now. As with most properties that a bank owns, and then sells, you probably got a pretty good deal, right? So here's my suggestion : Spend some of that money you saved when you bought the property, and hire a lawyer to legally get possession of your property back. The way you are trying to do in on your own now, just to save some money, I only give you about a 25% chance of doing EVERYTHING right, and getting possession back, by CHRISTMAS.

Yes, it could cost you $2-3,000 on a lawyer, but at least they know what to do, which by your post, says you don't. The only other way, is to offer that "occupant" $1-2,000 to move ALL their possessions out, and give you the keys back--(cash for keys). Once you get possession back, THEN you can start saving money by doing a lot of the remodeling work yourself. (PS)-----change locks the same day you get possession back, even if they did return the keys to you.

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Re: Eviction process- unlawful detainer complaint by Brian on July 4, 2019 @00:52	[ Reply ]

Yes, in hindsight I probably shouldn't have bought the house, at least at the price I paid, which was, I thought, reasonable for the amount of renovation it was going to require. This is the second foreclosure I've bought, and the first one was successful. Why didn't the bank evict him? I found out later the bank had offered him increasing amounts for 'cash for keys' which he refused. The rub is Wa. state law that requires the purchaser of a house in a trustee sale to give the tenant 60 days notice, which can turn into 90 days. While the bank bought the house at the trustee sale, not me, a lawyer I consulted advised me to give him the 60 day notice, which will turn into 90 days-- which is now up. As to why he's not living there, the city has red tagged the house as uninhabitable because the water had been shut off for non-payment. Then, once the temperatures rose above freezing, the power company shut off the power for non-payment. So legally (it's a misdemeanor if he even goes inside the house) he can't live there. But the combination of no water and no power-- at this point he's just using the house to store some stuff and three vehicles. I have offered him $600 to move out and he'll say he's thinking about it-- and then asks for $1500. At this point, I'd rather pay the costs of eviction than give him any money (I know that isn't strictly rational). So my question really is if the court will accept his lame excuse he never saw the notice posted on the door or received a notice in the mail, as the certified letter was returned to me.

Re: Eviction process- unlawful detainer complaint by Garry on July 4, 2019 @07:39	[ Reply ]

I'm from Iowa, and as far as I know, nobody on this forum is from Wash. state to be able to help you. In Iowa, I have done what you have done on posting and mailings, and our judges have accepted our proof of mailings, even though a T says they never received or saw the notices. Whether they will in Wash., I don't know. For that answer, you need to ask a lawyer, or read up on your state's LL/T laws, and your eviction laws. Remember, in courts of law, if a judge finds you have done one little thing wrong, they will throw out the whole case, and make you start over again. That may mean another 60-90 days, which puts the eviction into the start of winter. You said the water and power are currently off. What happens if you don't have possession back before winter sets in? It will get to zero in the house, and even if there is no pressure in the water lines, any water that's still just sitting there in those lines, can expand into ice and crack and break lines in several places. And you won't find those leaks untill you turn the water back again. Now you could be talking several thousand $ to rip out walls, and to hire a plumber to fix all the leaks. Evicting someone, if you have not done it several times before like I have, is NOT something you should try to do yourself. HIRE that attorney by next Monday, and get the eviction done right THE FIRST TIME-------OR-----pay the guy what he wants, and hope to have him out by August 1.

Re: Eviction process- unlawful detainer complaint by Brian on July 14, 2019 @19:13	[ Reply ]

I considered your advice, but decided to go ahead and file the unlawful detainer complaint, and use the sheriff's office to deliver the summons and complaint. Since the occupant is almost never at the house, they probably won't be able to deliver the summons, which will require a petition for alternative service. I had consulted a lawyer before doing this, but he wasn't familiar with the requirements of filing after a trustee sale, though he advised to use the 60 day notice to quit, since the bank that took possession of the house hadn't done so. They had offered the occupant $7500 to leave, which he ignored. I put July 31 as the date to answer the summons, which should give me time for both the regular service and alternative service (if by posting and mail, that must be done by the 22nd.

Re: Eviction process- unlawful detainer complaint

Re: Eviction process- unlawful detainer complaint - Landlord Forum thread 359472