2 years after DOD, no estate opened (auction, foreclosed, mortgage, mortgage)

[johnd393]

Owner died 2 years ago. House with mortgage sits there occupied by squatters. Mortgage bank has not foreclosed. No estate opened.
We've walked away from it. We don't contact anybody. We look online for info. County web site shows taxes are being paid. I assume the bank has continued tax payments.
The owner had allowed a guy who did some work for him to sleep in the garage, He's still there and has brought in others. So that's how the squatters got there. There have been arrests there and neighbors are unhappy. Police said a theft of electric service had been discovered. There is no active electric account.

So, whats new is a very similar home with no garage has been listed forsale a couple houses away which helps establish a home value higher than expected.

There is other debt and we don't know if we identified it all. Maybe it's too late for some of the claims. It's just a unknown. IRS debt is one.

It's kinda like if the house could be bought at a foreclosure auction and be free of other estate debt, maybe we could do something, but I don't think that's the case.

I don't think I can do anything but sit back and watch.
We don't have a use for it anyway

[adjusterjack]

You're walking along a path. You see an open bear trap in front of you. Do you put your foot in it to see if it works or do you walk around it?

[Parnassia]

If, as you say, you don't have any use for the house why bother watching what happens to it?

[johnd393]

I have an interest is not seeing a house, that belonged to a relative, turned into a meth lab or burned down. I want to see the bank do something and get a family into the house to take care of it.
I don't need to own it but if there was an opportunity to get it cheap enough, I'd think about it.

[Rabrrita]

Originally Posted by johnd393

I have an interest is not seeing a house, that belonged to a relative, turned into a meth lab or burned down. I want to see the bank do something and get a family into the house to take care of it.

So, if the house didn't belong to a relative, you wouldn't care if it becomes a meth lab?

If you care, make an offer to the bank, otherwise, it's just another derelict house destined to create blight in a community.

[johnd393]

Originally Posted by Rabrrita

So, if the house didn't belong to a relative, you wouldn't care if it becomes a meth lab?

If you care, make an offer to the bank, otherwise, it's just another derelict house destined to create blight in a community.

If it was not a relatives house. It is not my concern.
The owner was a decent law abiding person. He made some poor choices with his health, money and some people he let into his life.

Offer to the bank? If only it was that simple. We could get commingled with other estate debt.

[minna_reid]

The bank doesn't own the house to sell it to you anyway. The deceased's heirs could sell this home, subject to probate.
I am going to guess there is no equity in the home, hence why no one has bothered to try to gain title to the home.
Ultimately the lender will foreclose, but that could take years.

[luv4horses]

Go to the probate/orphans court in your relative’s county. Are there any natural heirs (spouse, kids, parents)? Was there a will (assume not). If no one else takes charge you might be able to become administrator. The register of wills will give you information you need. It’s possible the state will own if there are no heirs or beneficiaries.

But, if an estate gets opened, someone will eventually be able to evict the squatters via the district court. Unfortunately it’s a bunch of paperwork.

[EANJ]

Originally Posted by johnd393

Owner died 2 years ago. House with mortgage sits there occupied by squatters. Mortgage bank has not foreclosed. No estate opened.
We've walked away from it. We don't contact anybody. We look online for info. County web site shows taxes are being paid. I assume the bank has continued tax payments.
The owner had allowed a guy who did some work for him to sleep in the garage, He's still there and has brought in others. So that's how the squatters got there. There have been arrests there and neighbors are unhappy. Police said a theft of electric service had been discovered. There is no active electric account.

So, whats new is a very similar home with no garage has been listed forsale a couple houses away which helps establish a home value higher than expected.

There is other debt and we don't know if we identified it all. Maybe it's too late for some of the claims. It's just a unknown. IRS debt is one.

It's kinda like if the house could be bought at a foreclosure auction and be free of other estate debt, maybe we could do something, but I don't think that's the case.

I don't think I can do anything but sit back and watch.
We don't have a use for it anyway

Walk away. Even if it comes to auction, make sure it's free and clear, no hidden surprises, etc. -- and even then, if there's squatters, you could have a problem actually taking possession. Talk to an attorney who specializes in this, and the police.

[Roselvr]

Originally Posted by EANJ

Walk away. Even if it comes to auction, make sure it's free and clear, no hidden surprises, etc. -- and even then, if there's squatters, you could have a problem actually taking possession. Talk to an attorney who specializes in this, and the police.

Dealing with squatters throws a wrench into it. It is happening fairly often in the US with squatters refusing to leave. Owners will call the cops to get them out for trespassing but that rarely happens these days, they want the owner to take the squatter to court to legally evict them, and even then the person may not leave.

I saw an article about one guy who had his mother sign a lease that he was renting from her. He went to the house, broke in the front door moving some of his things to make it look like he was moving in, the squatter eventually came home, he showed them the new lease, the squatter and her daughter left the next day.