House Stealing

[HoldAndBuy]

$Cash$, that sounds like a great idea, but how would it work? Does the county deed office have to go along with it? I spoke to my county office a couple weeks ago and it was like talking to a stone wall. They seemed unconcerned about the whole issue.

[$Cash$]

HoldandBuy,

You have hit on the biggest part of the problem, most recorders office's don't care that someone can steal another persons house, however I am working on something that may change that.

Really a shame that this can happen with all the modern technology that is out there, yet is oblivious to those that should be protecting our best interests.

John $Cash$ Locke

[furnishedowner]

Cash,
Isn't this where title insurance can protect you as the buyer?  Or does it just protect you in the chain of title up until the purchase?

I think your Title_Lock idea is terrific if you can make it work.  It's going to take an attorney or two to protect you from losses.

Furnishedowner

[$Cash$]

furnishedowner,

Title insurance protects you up to the time you purchase the property.  In other words if a title defect is found after the time of closing then the title insurance would kick in, but only would protect prior to purchase in the chain of title.

My ideas are just in the development stages as I said, but something that really needs to be done to protect the home owner.  Put together some ads for demonstration purposes only, in other words just trying to get a feel from recorders offices on how they assess the problem.

www.bargainfax.com

John $Cash$ Locke

[HoldAndBuy]

The interesting thing is that there was a recent string of these in the Fort Lauderdale area. Apparently the thieves used adverse possession as their justification for taking the homes and putting their own "renters" in there. They put some kind of official type notice on the door of the houses about it being abandoned and then took them over a couple of weeks later when the homeowner didn't respond to their notice. It seems like an alarm system is one step that could be used in a vacant house to at least know if these types are trying to break in and squat, although that won't solve the quitclaim problem.

From what I know, the people most at risk are elderly and out of state/area owners of vacant properties, although  it can happen to anyone.

I think keeping the lawn maintained and putting some timer lights inside the house can be useful to make people think it's not abandoned. That's what I've been doing.

[furnishedowner]

We help an an out-of-state owner here by having found her a good yard guy.  He is at the property every week or two.  He will let us know if anything is out of place.

I would be very nervous, you out-of-state buyers, if you don't have anyone monitoring the property.

Furnishedowner

[HoldAndBuy]

FO, I'm nervous about it and my vacant property is only 10 minutes away! Although I'm more nervous about run of the mill vandals or thieves getting in there and messing the place up.

That's one reason I decided not to buy a property out of the area on my first one. Even with a PM there are so many things that can go wrong. I know there are some people who invest this way right off the bat but it isn't something I would want to do unless I was already experienced.

[justin0419]

One of the first actions I do is to put up mini-blinds/window coverings throughout the house.  I'll leave some wood/drywall on site, but I pack up my tools and take them home at night.  Try to meet some of the neighbors too.  A lot of times the neighbors are genuinely interested in what you're doing to a house that's sat vacant for a year.  If you were really worried about the place, you could put a couple lamps in there on timers.  If someone wants in there, NOTHING you do will keep them out.  Your goal is to just not make it enticing for them.  If anyone watches me leave, they'll see all my power tools leaving with me. 

[bubbletool]

You guys need to check out ePropertyWatch from First American CoreLogic (the developers of RealQuest). The free ePropertyWatch service monitors your property for any public record filings and sends you an email alert. It also has alerts for changes in estimated value, nearby sales and foreclosure activity.

http://epropertywatch.com

[belaircorp]

Just saw post.  I would certainly put the property into a land trust. Use your corponame as trustee and I would also recommend acorp or LLC as the beneficiary. If the thief wants a conventional sale, the title company will want to see the trust agreement and any articles of incorporation to prove that you're the one running it. Most thieves will run iin confusion. Let me know if I can be of more help.