Bought house now have squatter

[onestr8]

What is the name of your state? Missouri

I recently bought a house from the daughter of the now deceased owner. The daughter had power of attorney and signed the sale contract prior to her mother's death. The contract/disclosure sheet states that there is no tenant or resident living in the property.

Upon taking ownership, I found out that a second daughter had lived with the mother for a time and is squatting on the property. She has no lease or bills in her name - everything was in her mother's name. She is just squatting there.

The daughter that sold me the house is working to try and convince her sister to leave, but is not having much success.

My question is this, do I need to start eviction proceedings even though she was never a tenant? I am worried that taking the eviction route would make it look as though I am admitting to being her landlord (and allow her to claim tenant rights). Or do I simply call the police with a trespassing complaint and go from there?

Thanks for any advice you can provide.

 

[Ozark_Sophist]

You need to evict. You may be able to recover costs. Did you not do a final walk through?

 

[onestr8]

We did a walk through. The house had a lot of their mother's belongings still in it that were sold with the house. I'm not sure when the sister decided she was going to stay/squat there, but I went with the contract from the seller that said no one was living there. The mother was hospitalized at the time and died a couple of days after closing.

Doesn't eviction proceedings mean that i am recognizing her rights as a tenant as opposed to a trespasser and thus implying rent payments, tenant rights, etc? If that is the case, it seems like I should just move into the building next door as no one is living there and I could use a free place for a couple of months! lol!

Thanks for your response.

 

[justalayman]

I found out that a second daughter had lived with the mother for a time

then I guess the other daughter lied when she told you nobody else lived there. Since it appears the "squatter" is in fact a tenant, you will need to evict. If the woman "lived" there, which you state she effectively did, then she was a tenant of moms.

Now, if you want to be mean, the person that signed the disclosure obviously lied so they are liable for the costs to evict as well as the possibility of damages for you not being able to take possession of the property because of the "squatter".

I would suggest you contact the daughter that acted as POA and let her know that you expect her to get sis out now (although as a tenant, she has a right to notice and of she does not move voluntarily, somebody will have to evict her) or you will expect damages due from the estate is you cannot take possession immediately.

 

[nextwife]

Did the PR of the estate sign the standard title company "Owners Affidavit" at closing, stating there were NO "parties in possession"? Have you checked with the closing agent to see if they have this?

 

[HomeGuru]

What is the name of your state? Missouri

I recently bought a house from the daughter of the now deceased owner. The daughter had power of attorney and signed the sale contract prior to her mother's death. The contract/disclosure sheet states that there is no tenant or resident living in the property.

Upon taking ownership, I found out that a second daughter had lived with the mother for a time and is squatting on the property. She has no lease or bills in her name - everything was in her mother's name. She is just squatting there.

The daughter that sold me the house is working to try and convince her sister to leave, but is not having much success.

My question is this, do I need to start eviction proceedings even though she was never a tenant? I am worried that taking the eviction route would make it look as though I am admitting to being her landlord (and allow her to claim tenant rights). Or do I simply call the police with a trespassing complaint and go from there?

Thanks for any advice you can provide.

**A: you need to file a formal eviction.