Winter is here, pipes could freeze, how do I get her out!

[Ashley829]

What is the name of your state? NY
in 1994 my parents bought a two family house, with the understanding that they live in the house along with my hubby and I (hubby and I) pay the mortgage since day one. My parents name was the only on the mortgage and the deed. My dad passed away in 1999 at that time my mother told us she didnt think she could keep the home and didnt know what to do? , So she asked if we would buy it for what was left on the mortgage, so we did. We had our atty write up an agreement that mom could live in the guest house "rent free", this is not on our deed as life tenant. in 2000 my mom met a man, we had lots of trouble with him and mom, March of 2001 she changed her address and left to live with boyfriend about 10 miles up the road. . Heres my problem, She left again in June 2002 and has not been back, her heat is not on, some of her windows are open slightly, and I am concerned that her pipes will freeze and my hubby and I will have a mess on our hands, (she is responsible for all bills arising from her home). Last winter we sent her a letter saying that she must get her furniture out of the house so we can winterize it, she had her atty send a letter saying that she has no intention of giving up her home. What are my rights? Who is going to pay for new pipes that may burst?
thank you
Diane

 

[FarmerJ]

Diane where is the shut off for the guest houses water ? If it is in your own basement start there and turn it off and bleed the line . so did you end up legally buying the home from her or being added onto it ? If there are windows that are open your going to have to get into the unit and get the plumbing drained . ALL I can tell you is If you are one of the owners of the home you should not have any problem going in there and shutting down the hotwater heater and draining all the plumbing as long as you re secure the unit . See if your mom even though rent free is to be treated as a tenant then I would think if you sent a letter to her Informing her that your going to winterize the unit in the next 3 days you should be fine . She might get really mad but see if she legally is treated as if she is a tenant then she is also responsible to prevent the unit from being wasted through damage by her own actions . ( I dont know about NY but in my state if a tenants actions cause freezeup damage the tenant Is responsible .) when you do get into the unit of course do all the windows drain all pipes remove drain traps add RV anti freeze to toilet bowl , drain and shut off hot water . shut off the houses water main either at its stop box or in first homes basement if thats how it was connected . and set thermostat at least to 40 ( if it doesnt go that low newer ones do you might want to replace it just for winter ) If by chance your mom doesnt pay the utility bills over the winter then atleast the plumbing will be ok .

 

[JETX]

You have asked this question (in many different formats) many times on this forum and it has been answered before.

See:
https://forum.freeadvice.com/showthread.php?threadid=75385
https://forum.freeadvice.com/showthread.php?threadid=50787
https://forum.freeadvice.com/showthread.php?threadid=105299
https://forum.freeadvice.com/showthread.php?threadid=94884
https://forum.freeadvice.com/showthread.php?threadid=94429
https://forum.freeadvice.com/showthread.php?threadid=86696
https://forum.freeadvice.com/showthread.php?threadid=77788

So, have you done ANYTHING that was suggested in these other posts????

 

[Ashley829]

Halket,
Yes I have asked similar questions on other posts, and yes I have followed your advise and did speak to a local attorney, He advised me to send my mother the letter saying that she needed to remove her belongings and that we would be shuting the house down for winter and winterizing it as no one has been physically living in the home. In return I rec'd a letter from her atty saying she had no intention of removing her belongings from "her" home! And my atty advised me NOT to try and evict her even though she has not paid her portion of the water bill in 4 years, as my mother has COPD and uses oxygen (at night only) and he believe as soon as she walks into a court room carrying her oxygen tank the judge will most likley rule in her favor, saying "How can we evict this poor old woman", Even though she has not lived in the home for over a year!
I have recently spoke to another Atty who advised me to just go ahead and remove her stuff, put it in storage and rent the house out on a month to month lease, and if and when my mother comes back deal with it then. LOL, I live in a very small town, not a big selection of Atty's that will touch this case!
Thanks for your reply.
Diane

 

[Ashley829]

Farmer J

Thank you for your response.
My husband and I are the legal owners of the home, we carry the mortgage in our name only, we are the only owners on the deed.
I wil do exactly as you have stated, and yes the water shut off for her house is in MY basement.
Thanks again,
Diane

 

[FarmerJ]

for future use since you have a shut off in your basement do you know how easy it will be to add a submeter to meter that units water use and then figure out from your own bill every month the use . diane I have a party who rents some space from me here and I have a submeter for the electric very easy to figure it out . so even If your mom says she wont give up her claim to the guest house as a rent free tenant I do think you could again treat her as a tenant and work at proving that she is letting the unit become wasted by her actions . You do have a cam corder or a camera that you can take pics of things like windows being open and have date printed on them ? see even if you legally might not be able to get her to vacate you certainly can take steps to prove any future claim you make of her letting the unit become wasted .

 

[Ashley829]

FarmerJ

Thank you again for your response.
I have already begun taking photos with my digital camera and yes the date is printed on the photo. I did go into the home yesterday, what a mess! there has been food in the fridge that has spoiled, the fridge was turned down to the lowest possible setting, I turned it up, I also turned the heat on 54 degrees and will leave it at that setting, I am calling the village water dept. Monday morning to have a meter installed for her water use. Its kind of sad, 9 years ago my husband and I paid alot of money to convert our two car garage into her beautiful home, everything in her home was brand new, to see it now is a crying shame. We have had our share of problems with this woman, and I guess my ultimate goal was to get her out of our life once and for all, so my goal was met (unless she returns), now we just have to keep our eye on the place to be sure the heat does not kick off as all the pipes are unexposed and under the concrete in the floors, so you can bet I will make weekly checks of the place.
Thank you again,
Have a great day!
Diane

 

[FarmerJ]

Diane If you have bled all the water lines You really dont need to set heat higher than 40 rent a compressor and blow the lines out . RE the meter if your village wont install a 2nd meter You can do this your selfs as a sub meter , that means that you pay bill for all water on meter A and then meter B s reading is subtracted from A and that amount X local rate and a portion of the taxes . have you looked at that houses gas meter to see if it has been shut off and locked ? see if she lets the gas bills go or the electric then the heat could be disrupted anyway due to non payment so thats why i say to bleed them with compressor . ( Hint could compressor make nice early xmas gift for hub . ) the house can be warmed slowly if she returned in winter .