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Doesn't sound like the deed was written correctly.
Sounds like the mobile home owner has a life estate, its documented, and not mentioned in the deed. A problem. Not very easy to evict someone with a life estate. If done incorrectly, you would need to legally make her whole if you lost in court. Meaning..... if you evict her and toss the trailer, you could owe her another trailer, her mortgage, etc. The mortgage company may come after you too.
Just because your the new owner, doesn't mean your not legally bound by contracts already in effect. Similar to an easement, it doesn't disappear simply because it was sold to someone else.
Looks like you thought you got a deal, and its a dud.
Yes--that was my thought when I read that there was no rent involved--
And the location of this property in Henderson County, TX
Those are some tough people...
Before I prostitute myself to try to get money for a lawyer, I figured I would ask here.
I bought a residential lot. The deed is a warranty deed, there are no liens, and the deed doesn't mention any buildings. The former owner signed a letter for the resident's mortgage company giving her permission to live on the land and saying that she would never charge her rent as long as she lived.
When you buy real estate with tenants, if there is a lease or other agreement, the lease stays with the tenant and the new owner is required to live under the terms of the lease.
If there is a life estate, the person holding the life estate, is given the right to live on the property as long as they live, and any future buyer must live with the life estate. As the woman was given a life estate to live on the property as long as she lives, the former owner, gave the tenant basically a life estate, saying the tenant has the right to live on the property without the payment of rent, as long as she lives. As she is not paying any rent, she is not a tenant, but living on the property under an apparent life estate. So it would not fall under eviction laws, which are for rent paying tenants. Laws are different for life estates.
Why do you think you got the home for peanuts?
If what you say is true, that the mobile owner was given the right to stay on the property for her lifetime without payment of rent, as far as she is concerned, she has a FREE trailer space for life and the owner of the lot can do nothing with it as long as she is alive. New owners have to live with the life estate that existed at time of purchase.
They sold it to you for peanuts, as that was all it was worth and no one was willing to buy the lot at it's market value.
The time for you to find out about this mobile home owner, was before you bought the property. The woman was obviously living there, with permission of the seller. It was up to you to find out what her status is. Not doing so when the trailer was there for you to clearly see, is your fault you saw it and never asked about it. The big problem is, you now are the one with the problem, not her.
Second problem, if the unit is foreclosed on and removed by the mortgage holder, it really does not end a potential life estate. She would have the right to move something else to live in onto the property as she would still have a life estate to do so.
When you can buy any real estate for peanuts, you first need to find out why it is for sale so cheap. You obviously failed to do this.
I am not giving you legal advice, but I spent from 1972 until I retired as an investment real estate broker so have seen similar type situations and the one with the life estate has always won. It was what I was taught at university real estate law classes.
Quit trying to get FREE legal advice and a way to get rid of her on the Internet. It will not be worth anything to you.
You need to lawyer up, and find where you really stand in this situation. You need a genuine real estate lawyer that specializes in real estate, not a divorce lawyer or some other specialty. And to get rid of her, will in all probability, cost you a lot more than $600. Such situations can cost 10 times that amount or more.
Often in situations like this, the cheapest way out of it, is to offer her money to move from the property and sign away any life estate claim. It may cost you a few thousand dollars, but may still be far cheaper than using a lawyer to force her off of the property.
Before I prostitute myself to try to get money for a lawyer, I figured I would ask here.
I bought a residential lot. The deed is a warranty deed, there are no liens, and the deed doesn't mention any buildings. The former owner signed a letter for the resident's mortgage company giving her permission to live on the land and saying that she would never charge her rent as long as she lived. Well, i called the mortgage company in question, they said the letter the former owner signed doesn't keep her from selling the property to me legally, and of course the letter she signed is null and void if she sells the property to anyone. So i bought it for peanuts, thinking I would try to evict the trailer myself.
Trailer is not a doublewide, not a modular, and I believe that the wheels are still on it. It is tied down of course. There was a deck installed at the front door. There was a covered deck installed at the back door. The front deck is not attached. The back deck is attached to the trailer at one point, the roof. Flashing was installed connecting the roof of the deck to the roof of the house, so you can walk out the back door in the rain onto the deck without getting rained on. Obviously, one or both decks would need to be removed if the trailer were to be moved off of the property, in order to keep from damaging the trailer. And I do not know if the fact that the back is attached to the house matters, for legal purposes.
I need to know how to evict the trailer off the property. The tenant would have the choice to walk away from the house and let it be repoed, or move it off herself. She had another person who is the main applicant on the loan, but that person left the home because the co-applicant (present resident) is a mental case. The main applicant (the person who left) is an elderly person on a fixed income, so she is no longer paying the note on the home. She is content to let it be repoed. She would have it refinanced if she could to get the co-applicant's name off the mortgage/loan, but it is only 6 months old and 21st will not refinance unless it is at least a year old. No one else seems to want to touch single wide mobile homes that are not modular, or fixed to whatever they are calling a 'permanent foundation'.
If the elderly woman were the one living on the property, I would not even collect rent. She could stay. But the woman that is living there is a lost, evil person, and I want her and her trailer off my property.
The mortgage company the trailer resident has is 21st Mortgage.
I have never communicated with the person who lives in the trailer in any way, and will not except to send legal correspondence pertaining to eviction. I am not interested in collecting rents or offering a lease agreement, unless it is a necessary step toward eviction. I want the trailer off of it.
The land is outside the city limits of Chandler, TX, and in Henderson county. I need to know how to evict the trailer/resident.
By the way, if anyone knows of an attorney that is in east Texas and can succeed with a case like this for less than 600 dollars, please share their name. I am dead poor, and really too old to sell my body. Thanks.
This sounds like a hot mess that you never should have bought into. You need an attorney. In my state, you can evict people not trailers or buildings. Evictions can take MONTHS. It's not a simple process in many states.
Does the person living in the trailer have a lease? You need to find that out. If you bought property with a lease, you can't just evict someone. You have to finish out the lease.
Writing a letter to the mortgage company stating that the trailer purchaser won't have to pay any rent is not at all the same as giving the trailer owner a life estate. I think it falls more under the heading of mortgage fraud.
OP needs to consult with a lawyer who specialises in real estate law.
I have purchased properties with tenants living there from the previous owners. Usually a simple eviction if they are behind in the rent or cash for keys works. This is different. I would set up a couple appointments with local attorneys who work in Real Estate law. I have always been able to find attorneys who will give a free initial consultations for 30 minutes or so. At least you will know if you are stuck with this woman or there is a not too costly solution to getting her out of there before you spend any more money. Better than asking advice here.
Since you got the property for peanuts if there is no cost effective way to evict her just wait it out. Perhaps the trailer will get repoed and problem solved. Or if there its zoned for more than one trailer move more in there. At least get some rent money on the land.
This little explanation will tell you what a life estate is. As it says, the person with a life estate can let others lease the property, or to live there with or without paying rent. It lasts till the person dies, and then reverts to the land owner.
As someone was living in a mobile home hooked up for permanent living, the new owner cannot say that they did not know someone was using and living on the property. It is the buyers responsibility to find out what status of that person was before buying the property.
My 7th grade school teacher retired to Western WA and bought a property with an old farm house and a very old 1950's trailer... the elderly man sold the property with the provision he could live out his life in the trailer... he had a life estate.
A couple of years later there was an issue about two Living Units on the property... my retired teacher friend was able to work it out with the county but had to agree the trailer would be removed when the life estate person passed away... otherwise it was quite possible she would have had no right to stay there.
Life Estates complicate things but going in with eyes wide open you know that ahead of time.
I own one property with a life estate... it is family and it is for a cabin... that I helped build... when that person passes away the cabin will be mine... it also helped with transfer taxes because the property is encumbered... so the value was quite low...
Cash for Keys or you just made a possibly very long term investment... maybe even for your kids.
Does the person living in the trailer have a lease? You need to find that out. If you bought property with a lease, you can't just evict someone. You have to finish out the lease.
The OP keeps saying it is not a lease. It is worse for her position. The prior owner gave her permission to live there for the rest of her life without paying rent. This is probably controlled by Life Estate laws. The person with a life estate, cannot be evicted. If a life estate, the woman has complete control of the property till she dies, and cannot be forced to leave.
Your title insurance should have shown this encumbrance on the land. If it did not, you are in position to collect.
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