Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California
We recently purchased (2 months ago) a home in Northern California, and have been facing a weird problem.
The home next door is supposed to be "vacant" as it was foreclosed around 2 years ago, but due to some reason the property records shows it is still under previous owner name. We believe it is "zombie" property, a popular term used in real state terminology.
Problem is that people have been squatting in that house, and as per other neighbors, those guys have been squatting in that house for long time. We never saw any lights on inside house, but lots of people come and go in and out during odd hours. They drive cars, and come in various different types of vehicles.
We have a 2 year old kid and we are very worried about the situation. As we are the first time home buyers, we are already thinking to sell it. Some neighbors told not to play with kid outside home or even front of our home as it is dangerous. Neighbor told there was break attempt in their home by one of squatters.We called cops multiple time and they evicted squatters, but they come back on same day or next day. As squatting is a civil matter, cops cannot help much, unless bank or previous owner take any step.
Before buying home we asked seller multiple times about neighborhood but they didn�t disclose anything as such, otherwise we would have never bought this home.
We have talked to seller�s agent also and she said she was not aware of this and seller didn�t disclose anything to her .
We cannot even sleep peacefully knowing that people are living illegally in the home.
Can I file a lawsuit again seller regarding this matter, and I would like to know what are precautions or and suggestions
1 Answer from Attorneys
You are better off finding out who the owner of the property is. If there was a foreclosure, you need to find out who received title at the trustee's sale by way of a recorded "trustee's deed upon sale." That person is the owner, and they should be notified about the squatters so that they may have them removed.
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