Squatters.... This house ain't big enuf' fer the both of us....and I WILL move into MY house if I must ;)...

When my tenants don't pay, the Sherriff will move their stuff out into the street after 3 days and lock them out. I have anything still there after a few days hauled away and get a judgement against the tenants to punish them, ruin any credit they may still have left and teach them a lesson...plus, you never know, some day they just might inherit some money/win the lottery. No wonder rents are high in CA.

Squatters are not the reason why rents are high flint

Squatters are in Venice and in Compton and the rents I’m sure are what you would expect given the market forces at work, such as supply, demand and value

Same in NYC

It's not his house yet, legally speaking.
It's still the "brothers" and his "room mates" until Probate updates the deed/property interest transfer.

Just a thought.. and not sure if accurate:
-As Trustee, you might be able to access the current utilities account with the Certificate of Death, trustee papers, etc, and be obligated to identify all occupants.
-If they have no signed lease or contract on record, he might be able to get a temporary restraining order.
-Then after the estate settles, they might be liable for utilities used in the interim.
-My guess is that the estate will probably be responsible for all but it's another angle to try.

In the meantime, you might be able to give 24/72 hour access notice and video the condition of everything..
An hour or two with a probate attorney with all questions would be money well spent. imo

While I imagine all the above is true, as a businessman faced with potential squatters/inability to evict tenants, I would have to keep rents high enough to cover the potential loss of at least 5 or 6 months of rent every couple of years vice the typical one month every couple of years I do for my properties.

I guess a smart burglar caught in the act should say "I'm not robbing the place, I'm living here now".

I wonder how those protracted evictions turn out. Surely, the grateful evictees do a little tidying up before leaving as thanks.

Old 60 Minutes piece re: a stolen painting. Mike Wallace interviews art thief:

Wallace: You're a thief.
thief: I'm not a thief
Wallace: Do you have the painting?
thief: yes
Wallace: Then you're a thief!
thief: I'm not a thief.
Wallace: How are you not a thief?
thief: they never asked me to return it.
Wallace: Never asked!? There has been an international man hunt for you! Where have you been?
thief: I've been on vacation.
Wallace: Vacation!? Where have you been on vacation?
thief: oh, various places.
Wallace: How long have you been on vacation?
thief: A few of years now.

I’m sure you and all landlords do but that is not the reason for high rental costs in highly desirable locations like coastal California or the tri-state area etc

Also keep in mind that the scenario you post is not a squatter situation. It’s a tenant who is in breach of contract with you by not paying rent

A squatter is someone with no written contract with the owner. Basically it a someone who walks into an empty house off the street and claims it for themself.

If the owner were around and cared, a simple 911 call to the cops would resolve the trespasser

This -squatter situation-happens exponentially more in the case of abandoned foreclosure homes rather than rental situations....key word is abandoned, whether intentionally or because of death doesn’t matter

I represent mortgagees and see this every single day. It’s a major issue especially considering the damage to the property that occurs by squatters....pipes fixtures appliances windows etc.....

“Squatters” are not something that plague your average landlord

One of my friend's daughter recently bought her first house. She qualified for the mortgage on her own, and set up the utilities in her name only, and she became a rightful home owner. She was dating a guy during this process. He lived there with her for a few weeks. She finally told him to hit the road, as he had not contributed any money to the costs. He wanted to stay. She called her dad first of course. He asked if he had his name on utilities, or any mail sent there. She said no.

They called the cops, and told him to leave now, or in a few minutes he gets a free ride to jail in handcuffs. He claimed he lived there. She denied it, and the cops asked if he had any proof. He had no bills or even a single piece of mail. She showed the cops her water and electric bill in her name only. She even had her deed ready for the cops.

The ex-boyfriend grabbed his clothes and toothbrush and left. The cops reminded him they had his name on a report, and they better not get called to the house because he is causing problems.

That is how it is supposed to work.

That is how how it works

The problem with squatters, or should I say the reason why squatters become a problem, is because the owner is nowhere to be found to allege a trespass violation.

It’s when a new owner, either through foreclosure sale or inheritance etc, comes into the situation that the squatter becomes an issue

A guest who stays too long is not a squatter and neither is a tenant who fails to pay. Very different than a squatter

The OP has squatters because.....the owner is no longer there to testify to the various rights of the people living there

Once he becomes an owner or person with authority to act as owner, he will have the rights he needs to evict the squatters...in NY you name those squatters as “John Doe” in your eviction papers

Rent is high because there are too many damn people here after those good jobs.

Oh yeah, there's rent control and retroactive rent. That means even if the old renter moves out, you are not to charge market rate but must charge the old existing rate with maybe a 3 or 4 % increase. I am not sure what the percentage is anymore. The laws have been changing on the increase.

When I lived in SF long ago, I remember some new city law that guaranteed tenants could stay after a sale, unless the new owner or relatives moved in for at least one or two years.

That may have changed and only local. idk.

There were quite a few buyers/LLs using that to kick people out, and some buzz about it.

After talking to the probate attorney I hired, I was given another law firm to address the eviction
problem. So.... now I have two different lawyers working on two different issues.
I am going to get raked over the coals financially but in the end I will get closure.

My advise to every person out there reading this post is:
I don't care how old you are, get a Living Trust, Will, Power of Attorney and Health directive.
If you don't then you will regret it.

Only the survivors regret the lack of the trust, or will and so on.

If it makes you feel any better NONE of these documents would have saved you any money or headache whatsoever regarding getting rid of squatters.

A power of attorney’s powers die when the person dies. The will would have made his intentions clear regarding appointment of an executor but you would still likely need to go through probate proceedings to get the letters testamentary, the trust I have no idea why you think that is relevant and likewise a health care directive is useless once your dead and good luck getting a hospital to abide by one anyway

Btw I’m not an estates attorney but I’m pretty sure if your appointed as an administrator you can charge the estate for the expenses you lay out. Ask your estate attorney about that

My understanding is that:
1). There was no will.
(but even then, Probate is always default to clear up any potential outstanding contingencies on estate)

2). OP is acting as Trustee for that estate, and with acting powers thereof.


(but I could have read this thread completely wrong...)

We agree on #1


#2, my understanding is he only just petitioned the court and therefore has no legal authority to do anything yet. I’m in NY so not sure about Cali but here without a will that appoints an executor, you have to petition the surrogates court to be appointed as an executor/administrator of the estate. I’m pretty sure that in Cali and probably anywhere, you have no power to act on behalf of the deceased without the courts granting such powers and evidencing same with a document usually called letters testamentary which you would use to show the bank in order to close bank accounts, transfer funds etc.....I’m certain that even with a will that could have appointed him as executor, OP would still need the surrogate to issue letters testamentary or whatever they are called in Cali. I could be wrong about how Cali does it. In any case, OP likely could handle the probable/surrogate court stuff pro se....probate/surrogate courts around the country are typically very familiar with unrepresented people who appear and are not sure what to do...and are tolerant and helpful in this regard

Can you not bring a legally owned gun into the house and force them out? What about the rights to protect your home/property?

You and some others here are confusing squatters with trespassers. Like I said above, a squatter is, generally speaking, a person with no ownership rights who walks into a vacant, abandoned home.......like the OP’s situation. Remember, it’s not the OP’s house. His brother abandoned the property by passing away and now a person is living there.

Even if OP becomes the owner, that is much different than already being an owner and having someone essentially break into your home