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#37 Kicking Out Squatters! Shocking Lockout Day Experience · Own More Doors

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: What's up everyone?
• 0:01
  SPEAKER_00: Juan Weezar here with the Own More Doors podcast.
• 0:04
  SPEAKER_00: This specific episode was first shared on our YouTube channel, Sage Real Estate.
• 0:08
  SPEAKER_00: Check it out.
• 0:09
  SPEAKER_00: And we're excited to bring it to you here.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_02: Okay, well, don't let a coaster rate.
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_00: So it's bright and early in LA.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_00: It's a Wednesday, January 29th, and I'm driving out to go kick out squatters.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_00: Nine months ago, my client called, found out that squatters had just broken into his property.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_00: The police is not going to do anything about it.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_00: And so he had to hire an attorney.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_00: Nine months later, folks, he's fighting.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_00: He's out thousands and thousands of legal fees, hasn't collected a dime, and people are living for free on his back.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_00: Does that sound fair to you?
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_00: I'm driving out there today.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_00: Finally, nine months later, the sheriff is coming out.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know what we're gonna encounter, but stay tuned as we finally kick out those damn squatters.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, so we just parked.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_00: Um, we're gonna be meeting the sheriff here at 7:30 in the morning.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_00: We wanted to arrive early.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_00: This is kind of the bad part of property uh ownership, and this is something I've never really covered before.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_00: Is and in in this case, it's not necessarily an eviction, it's it's kicking out.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not even gonna call it an eviction, it's kicking out a squatter um who shouldn't who shouldn't have ever been there, but but that's the case.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_00: And so we have a locksmith here, the owner's on their way, the sheriff's supposed to be here, property manager's gonna be here, the realtor, I'm here.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_00: This is a building that now the owner just wants to sell it and wants to be done with it.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_00: And so uh he finally gets possession, he's out lots of money, and and I'm hoping that I get them the right price and kind of make up some of that loss.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_00: And I don't want to go out yet, I don't know what the um personality of these squatters are.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know if they're still gonna be there, if they're gonna be disgruntled, you know.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_00: Somehow, somehow they're the victims.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know how that is.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_00: Robert, so you've gone from eviction, two sets of squatters.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, at this point, I mean, people watching the video might be like, man, why would I even want to buy rental property in this area?
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_00: I know before all this, this was somewhat of a good experience for you.
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_00: You bought it at a right price, you've you've you've renovated, you know, you've been a good owner, you've had it professionally managed.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_00: What are your thoughts now that you've been through all this?
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_01: Well, it's like you said, I mean, uh, when I bought the property, it was a it was an investment, it was a retirement asset, right?
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_01: Something that I was gonna parley into another property at some point.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_01: Um, we get did get a good price.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, things weren't perfect, but but it was a good investment, and we wanted to provide a clean, safe uh place for families to live.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_01: And and we did that, and like I said, it was it was doing well, and the property was appreciating, so it has appreciated.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_01: Yet, you know, when you're put in this kind of situation, um, it really is stressful too.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_01: It that's added stress uh to an owner to have to deal with this, right?
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_01: And and you cannot feel helpless, right?
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so it's it's frustrating, but it it as far as the experience, uh, you know, you just deal with it, you have to deal with it, and then hopefully just move on.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_00: The squatters have been notified that this is the lockout date, and you've done this before.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_00: Like, are we expecting them to be here today?
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_01: Well, typically, from what I've been told, is that once the once they receive notification from the sheriffs they usually vacate the unit, but doesn't seem to be the case right now.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_01: We're we're here waiting, and uh unfortunately I just talked to my property manager and he said that the sheriffs typically are 20, 30, you know, 40 minutes late on lockout day.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_01: So here we're just waiting to see what's gonna happen, and hopefully we can uh hopefully they arrive soon and we can move on with this process and get these people out.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_00: You you took the risk of the down payment, of getting the mortgage, of getting the right insurance, of getting the right property manager, making sure the place is livable, habitable, good condition, and then someone could just take it.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_00: And then the way our laws work is there's no there's no penalty for them.
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_00: There's nothing happens to them.
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_01: They get they get to walk away, uh, they don't pay their rent.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_01: Um it's it's basically the perfect crime, right?
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, uh you you get to live somewhere, take advantage of someone that's trying to provide housing uh for a community that needs it.
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_01: And and uh and then you know, to add insult to injury, the sheriffs who should be on your side don't even have the courtesy to show up on time when you're here waiting uh anxiously to get through this, right?
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_01: Because it's a it's nerve-wracking, right?
• 4:43
  SPEAKER_01: I don't want to be here.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_01: I'm you know, you have a safety issue, right?
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we don't know what we're gonna get into right now.
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_01: Right, yeah, right, right.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_01: So uh it's kind of a tense moment, right?
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_02: Okay, well, don't let it go through.
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_00: So we're here.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_00: But um sheriff knocked, no one was here.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_00: Uh the sheriff gave the okay to go in with the with the locksmith, which they've done, and they've gone inside.
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_00: Clearly looks like someone's living here.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_00: I see couches and stuff like there, so I don't know where they went.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_00: They were the squatters were notified that this was gonna happen, but they're probably still here.
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_00: So we got into one unit, we're gonna get into the next one.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_00: Uh I wasn't expecting the sheriffs to go in with guns, but they did.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_00: So uh little tense moment.
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_00: The owner's in the back, and yeah, it's not it's not a good situation, but we're simply trying to get back with ourselves.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_00: Clearly, they they moved in, they set up a big TV, made themselves right at home like they were the tenants when they're not.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_00: I see um they set up for internet, for cable.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_00: Um it's nice and warm.
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_00: They left the heater on.
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, did they leave knowing the sheriff was gonna be here or are they coming back?
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not sure.
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_00: We're gonna make sure we secure the property.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_00: Overall, the condition's good.
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_00: It's what I remember it being when I last saw it before they broke in and took over.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_00: So the sheriff just got in through this back door.
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_00: You know, you could see that um, you know, I was afraid they were gonna tear out the kitchen cabinets.
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_00: Uh they're living here.
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_00: And it's uh it's crazy how they feel like they have the right to just live here and just take possession.
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I I'm just shocked, but yeah, so I mean, you'll see there's TV, there's couches.
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_00: The only reason the Deadbolts were missing is because the locksmith just got in them.
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_00: All in all, it's some cleanup work.
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_00: The way the law works is uh they're gonna post notice, eviction notice to these squatters again.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_00: And the sheriff told us that they have 15 days to contact us to get back their stuff.
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_00: So we can't throw it out as much as we wish we could throw all this stuff out to get a little bit of payback, right?
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_00: But that's not the way it works, and so um 15 days, they gotta come take their stuff out.
• 7:41
  SPEAKER_00: If we don't hear from them, then we have to be responsible for clearing it out, which most likely will be the case.
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_00: All right, so we got into two of the units, and there was a third vacant unit that the tenant just moved out on their own.
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_00: It was just what happens, and we found out that someone had also squatted the third unit.
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_00: And yeah, so now we're um in fact, someone left someone left a little guy behind in one of the units, which is a shame, but um uh you you you never know what you're gonna get into.
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_00: Uh we're gonna make sure that we secure the property, and uh we have iron gates being set up and locksmiths here, and I'll hand him in here, and we're gonna make sure this never happens again.
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_01: You know, we're gonna board it up and get it all secure and you know, hopefully get the repairs done as quickly as possible so we can, you know, get the property sold.
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_00: So now we're in the third unit.
• 8:33
  SPEAKER_00: You know, when we originally came here, we were expecting two two of the units that had been taken over by squatters, and we had one vacant unit, the tenant moved out, and come and find out that this one had already been taken out by had also been taken over by squatters, and so we're now walking through.
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_00: In fact, the squatter is outside still, like he's oblivious to what's happening.
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_00: And so, oh my god, look at that.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_00: That's how they got in.
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_00: Can you can you get that?
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_00: Wow.
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_00: So you could see that they pried open the security door and they smashed that window, and uh, that's how that's how the squatter got in.
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_00: The sheriff's gone now.
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_00: We we got back possession of three of the units.
• 9:14
  SPEAKER_00: Obviously, there's a lot of stuff here.
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_00: So this is not it's it's still kind of far from over.
• 9:18
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I guess the um the good news is we got the legal right to take possession back of your property, which is weird that you needed legal right to take possession of your property.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_00: What can we take away from this?
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_00: What's what you know, someone watching at home, how could they prevent this from happening?
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_00: How can they be on the lookout for something like this if they're housing providers?
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_01: That's a that's a great question because uh this really can happen to anybody.
• 9:42
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I'm hearing that it's happened uh to people in in every type of area, right?
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_01: From you know, average neighborhoods to very high-end neighborhoods.
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_01: So um I don't know exactly what you can do.
• 9:56
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, you know, we tr we try to be vigilant, we try to make sure we're inspecting the property on a regular basis.
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_01: Uh but I mean in this instance, we're just trying to now provide the type of security uh, you know, to so that they can never gain access again, right?
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and and then hopefully get them rented up and and uh or have the property sold.
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so there you have it, guys.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_00: This is not not every video we do is kind of like a great story.
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_00: This might be a uh a better ending because we did get possession back.
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_00: It did take take nine months of of stress and you know this this feeling of of angst and and uneasiness.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_00: And listen, I mean you try to go to bed and you're like, man, someone's taking advantage of me, and I don't have the right to do something about my own property, which that to me is frustrating to me.
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_00: Change needs to happen.
• 10:46
  SPEAKER_00: I never come to the uh on my channels and push for change, but this is something there has to be some some type of law that protects housing providers.
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_00: This he's not a corporate Rob is not a corporation.
• 10:56
  SPEAKER_00: This is he's what we call a mama mom and pop independent apartment owner.
• 11:00
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, this is who's really being affected in the situation.
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_00: And Rob is one of many, many people.
• 11:05
  SPEAKER_00: And I'll tell you what, the folks who broke into here, they're gonna break into something next.
• 11:09
  SPEAKER_00: And I hope it's not your property, but if you have a vacant property, you got to make sure to what Rob said, be vigilant, make sure it's it's it can't be broken into, although they might find a way.
• 11:20
  SPEAKER_00: And so there you have it.
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_00: Make sure to like, comment, and subscribe.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_00: Until next time.
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you.