DETROIT – Imagine buying a new home and finding out someone else is already living there, and they won't leave!
It happened to Karen Morgan of Southfield. Luckily, she bought the home as an investment, so she already had a safe place to call home, but she soon found herself in a frustrating battle.
Homecoming turns tnto nightmare
Morgan became interested in the property on Detroit's east side because she had grown up in the neighborhood.
"It was special to me because there was a connection. There's a history there and the neighborhood is still stable," she told Help Me Hank.
Morgan bought the home through a Wayne County auction. She was happy at first. "I got that bid, so I was excited. Oh, gosh, and found out someone was staying there," she said.
Morgan said she went to the home with her new deed and asked the woman living there when she would leave. Morgan said there were conversations in person and via text about the woman moving out.
"So, I've been going around and around trying to be nice, at the same time, and get her to get out of my house, but she's literally refusing," Morgan said. She bought the home in November and was still trying to get the woman to move out in early March.
Morgan felt new laws passed in 2014 should have made it easier to get the woman to leave, but felt she was running into brick walls. More on the best ways to get an unwanted resident to move out in a moment.
Help Me Hank gets involved
Finally, Morgan emailed Help Me Hank to get some assistance. Local 4 Consumer Investigator Hank Winchester decided to pay a visit to the occupant, Kalita, otherwise known as Miss B, to see what she had to say about staying in a home that belonged to someone else.
At first, she tried to avoid Winchester, running into a van and driving away. However, she returned minutes later and had a lengthy conversation with Winchester. He showed her the deed that listed Morgan as the owner.
"I haven't talked to her," Kalita said. "I haven't seen her, she hasn't showed me the paperwork, but she did tell me that she bought the house."
The conversation was combative and confusing as she told Winchester she hadn't seen any proper paperwork, but she was planning to move very soon.
When he showed her the documents, provided by Morgan and the Wayne County Treasurer, Kalita said she had a new place lined up, but was waiting for the furnace to get fixed. At no time did Kalita offer to show a lease, canceled rent checks, or any documentation to prove her right to be in the home.
Hours later, a big change
Just hours after Winchester left, neighbors reported to Morgan there was new activity at the home. A moving can was pulled up to the front door and Kalita was quickly loading her possession into the van. A Help Me Hank photographer was on the scene as she vacated the premises.
Morgan also arrived on the scene, anxious to make sure there wasn't any trouble.
"My goal right now is to get into my house, secure my house, make sure that no damage is being done in the process of moving," she said.
Morgan called a locksmith, but the folks moving out would not let the locksmith change the locks. Morgan called Detroit police, and they responded quickly. Police told the homeowner she could not change the locks until the occupant removed all her belongings. Officers stayed on the scene and served as a liaison between the two woman for hours.
Finally, the moving van pulled away and Kalita got into her car and drove off. Morgan was able to get inside the home and secure the property she had bought almost four months ago.
"If it wasn't for Channel 4, I wouldn't be standing here right now," she said. "If Help Me Hank had not been involved... she would not have moved out. She would have been biding her time as she has done for the past couple of months."
Facing a squatter: What can you do?
Help Me Hank spoke with Wayne County Deputy Treasurer Eric Sabree about this emotional legal challenge. He pointed out that Wayne County is not in the business of evicting people from properties sold at auction.
"We explain the property is sold 'as is.' If someone is occupying the property, then it's the obligation of the buyer to address the occupant," he said.
So, what's a homeowner to do if he discovers an unwanted occupant? The answer is: proceed very carefully!
Help Me Hank has come up with these preliminary guidelines by talking with the Wayne County Treasurer's Office and Detroit Police. If you find yourself in the situation, you can review these steps, but should also seek further advice from an attorney, police, or your county government.
1.If you find someone is in the home, interview some of the neighbors to see what they know about the occupants. They will often know if they were once the legitimate owners, legitimate renters, or if they are someone who just moved in off the street. Knowing some of the history of the occupant could prove crucial.
2. Do research by checking county records. If neighbors tell you the occupant was once a legal resident, you should check county records to
confirm those reports. If the occupant ever had legal rights to the property, you face a much more complicated path to removing them from the home.
3. The Wayne County Treasurer advises you to get copies of your deed and all pertinent documents BEFORE you visit the current occupant. You want your legal proof in hand before starting any conversations. There are exceptions for abandoned buildings where Wayne County might give you written permission to board up a vacant building if there are safety concerns. Usually, get your documents in order.
4. Before you approach the occupant, think carefully about how that conversation will go. Detroit police warn if you give verbal consent for them to stay for any period of time, you may creating a verbal contract that now offers them some legal claim to the property. If you don't want them to stay, avoid giving them permission to stay for any period of time.
5. There may be cases where the homeowner is willing to rent or resell the property to the occupants. Once you have your documents in hand, and a game plan on how to approach the occupant, you can visit and have a discussion about how to go forward.
6. All the experts tell Help Me Hank, the most consistent way to remove unwanted occupants is to start the eviction process in court. It may take longer, but then you have the authority of the court behind you. Detroit Police tell us you can, and should, us the courts to evict unwanted occupants even if you've never had any legal relationship with them. Eviction is the process of removing any illegal occupant from a property, they do not have to be your tenant.
7. New laws were passed in Michigan in 2014 that intended to make removing a squatter easier, but the results are not without some drawbacks. For example, one statute gives owners a little more latitude to evict someone on their own, but there are some things to consider. First, the person must be someone who came into the home by trespassing. If they EVER had any legal right to the dwelling the law does not apply.
If you are dealing with an illegal squatter, the owner can remove their belongings and change the locks. They cannot remove someone by force!
In fact, if you are removing someone by force and police are called the legal owners could face arrest for assault. This self-help law would also seem to have some other drawbacks. Unless you are prepared to have someone on site to protect the home, when the squatter returns they might simply break-in and move back in. If you decide to use this law, read the fine print carefully and consider all the possible outcomes.
8. Another law makes squatting in a single family house or duplex a misdemeanor for the first offense with a $5,000 maximum fine and a 180 day maximum sentence. The second (and further) offenses become felonies with a $10,000 maximum fine and a 2 year maximum sentence. This is an area where police can help. You would need to call police, show them proof of ownership, and if they are convinced the person is there illegally, they will be ticketed.
If you are up against a squatter, call your local police before going to the property to speak with officers about what they can and cannot do. Experts say it is not as simple as calling police to the home, showing them the deed, and they just throw out the squatter. That's not going to happen.
Instead, do your research, come up with a measured plan, and follow the legal steps necessary. These squatting situations can become very volatile, and some people have been known to create a lot of damage on the way out of the home.