Squat in SoCal

[Tigerlily]

Hi everyone,

I'm new to this whole thing and have been seriously contemplating squatting in a vacant home I found. So the home has been vacant for a year because the owners died. I checked with the county for property owners names, info and taxes. Owners are still the deceased and taxes are being paid. Well I assumed the kids own the house so I contacted their daughter and she said the bank owns the house and she's not sure why they haven't done anything with it. The house is clearly abandoned, but old furniture stacked up is visible through the windows. So now I'm not sure what to do. What would anyone here do? Do you think the daughter lied? How can I find out if the bank truly owns it?

Thanks!
PS I'd appreciate any help or advice I can find, I'm in a situation where I'm homeless and jobless but not through lack of trying! No one will hire me (7 months pregnant) and you can't find a home without income.

 

[KittyCosmos]

Following for general interest*

 

[Crazy Hobo Johnny]

Welcome to STP!!! You're in the right place! You'll find plenty of helpful information and like minded people here! It's great community!

 

[Jimmy Beans]

I'd sign up for something online or even in person, sign up anywhere for anything just get something sent to that address with your name on it and the date. Once you have possession of that and the date is a month old, you won't be considered a trespasser on that property. In fact it'll take a legal eviction to have you removed.

 

[Deleted member 20683]

sorry to hear you are in such a tough situation.
there are some diy intro squatting guides out there, some on this site i'm sure... i'm not clear exactly what you're asking - why does it matter whether the bank owns the house, and are you doubting it because the county records say something else? in any case the bank probably owns lots of houses & the first thing to worry about is just the neighbors...try changing the locks and come back in a week?

 

[Deleted member 20683]

I'd sign up for something online or even in person, sign up anywhere for anything just get something sent to that address with your name on it and the date. Once you have possession of that and the date is a month old, you won't be considered a trespasser on that property. In fact it'll take a legal eviction to have you removed.

i agree getting mail can be a good idea but...where did you get this information from? for one thing i think eviction statutes vary a lot by jurisdiction

 

[Tigerlily]

sorry to hear you are in such a tough situation.
there are some diy intro squatting guides out there, some on this site i'm sure... i'm not clear exactly what you're asking - why does it matter whether the bank owns the house, and are you doubting it because the county records say something else? in any case the bank probably owns lots of houses & the first thing to worry about is just the neighbors...try changing the locks and come back in a week?

Thanks for the reply! I've made contact with the daughter so if she is lying she knows my name and phone number and could probably get me evicted quicker than if a bank owns it right?

 

[Jackthereaper]

The eviction will most likely favor the bigger pocket banks if time is what you are concerned about.
Can you gain entry without breaking anything?
Is the power on?
Have you knocked a few times to make sure its REALLY abandoned?

 

[Jimmy Beans]

i agree getting mail can be a good idea but...where did you get this information from? for one thing i think eviction statutes vary a lot by jurisdiction

I didn't so much read "having mail at an address will establish residency" but I recall reading somewhere that if you could prove you've lived there for a month it would be a lot harder to remove you in most places. I just tell anyone get the mail going, if they're starting into this process. It certainly can't hurt. If I were going to squat a new place I'd get that mail going and sit on it a month. I wouldn't even go in until my mail was a month old, I'd just watch the place and keep my mail. Then I'd get a bunch of my belongings into that house quickly at a months time and get comfortable.

 

[Tigerlily]

The eviction will most likely favor the bigger pocket banks if time is what you are concerned about.
Can you gain entry without breaking anything?
Is the power on?
Have you knocked a few times to make sure its REALLY abandoned?

I drive by it daily, it's at the same times of the day though, but it's pretty abandoned. Code enforcement was notified in April of the eye sore it's turned into. Weeds and shrubbery overgrown, fencing is falling apart into the park it sits in front of. I'll have to check on trying to get in, I haven't tried. I wanted to go about this legally and try to rent from the kids at a discount if I have to clean and fix up the house. But since that's not working and I'm desperate I'm trying to see if squatting is doable. Like I said I'm so new to this, I don't even know where to start!

 

[Tadaa]

Like I said I'm so new to this, I don't even know where to start!

you re starting pretty good it seems..

loads of threads on here on the subject. do some searching. i know some regular long time members with experience have posted some pretty good info on the subject. just send them a privatre message for more information about the laws and their eperiences.

good luck!

 

[Deleted member 20683]

here is a list of squattting zines on this site:

https://squattheplanet.com/files/categories/squatting.37/

just my quick thoughts on what was discussed above. if the person who knows your name isn't in any way legally attached to the house, i don't really see why she would care if you're in it, but i do understand your question about that better. afaik, unfortunately "squatter's rights" is more of a figure of speech in the u.s. than a legal reality, and i think some places have made it easier to kick people out since the foreclosure crisis. in theory you can establish yourself as a "resident", it becomes a civil case about tenancy rather than a misdemeanor case about "trespassing". you may want to work on your story about this before anyone shows up...neighbors, bank-hired property managers, or cops. the nicer the place looks, the less likely they may be to decide you're some crazy druggy. you may want to say something like some shady guy rented you the place and gave you the key etc etc because that happens....good luck!!!

 

[Golcems]

I drive by it daily

Have you considered living in your car? Theres a ton of info here if youre interested in that. Just a suggestion : )

 

[Tigerlily]

Have you considered living in your car? Theres a ton of info here if youre interested in that. Just a suggestion : )

Yes I actually was, but now at 7 months pregnant it's gotten very uncomfortable

 

[Golcems]

Yes I actually was, but now at 7 months pregnant it's gotten very uncomfortable

Oooh yeah that makes sense, sorry I missed that. Hope it works out for you though, I cant imagine goin through that

 

[Stiv Rhodes]

I've done this a LOT, and the houses that are vacant because the former owner died are the BEST! The daughter probably was not lying so to speak, the owner could have taken a second mortgage out on the house toward the end of their life and the bank will foreclose but hasn't yet, or the bank may have foreclosed but the new ownership hasn't posted to the assessor's webpage yet. Get mail sent there, you may have to fill out a new resident form with the post office if mail to that address has been stopped. If the house is goinng through foreclosure, they will have to mail updates about the process to the address in question. Get in there and change the locks. Get rid of anything with the previous owner's name on it as well as anything that screams "abandoned for a long time" or "someone else's home." Set aside anything that could potentially be useful for living, even if YOU probably don't want to use it, you want the house to look like a home, not an abandoned building. Search through the mail for clues about the foreclosure process. Since the 2008 foreclosure crises, they made iit take longer for a bank to take posession of a property when the loan is in default. Ditto what Oak Moth said about making up a story about renting from someone. You can even tell the cops you're renting a room from someone who's not there right now. Good luck!

 

[Jackthereaper]

There are a lot of “rental scam” stories i think are just squatters who sent a few texts to a burner phone and drew up a rudimentary “lease” for cover. Just draw up a lease for yourself with a fictitious landlard and have that at the ready.

 

[Minky]

Any updates? Baby arrive ok?