Purchasing repoed house, no key, gaining access?

[Mr Ules]

Yes, you're invading someones private property, but in this case no one lives there. So what's the problem. And by the way, at least half the people on this site probably burglary tools which are probably illegal where they are living. Wether you're innocent of not, you could be arrested.

[digital_blue]

Yes, you're invading someones private property, but in this case no one lives there. So what's the problem. And by the way, at least half the people on this site probably <own> burglary tools which are probably illegal where they are living. Wether you're innocent of not, you could be arrested.

Are you serious B? This is the "it's not a crime if nobody gets hurt" argument. Come on! Do you really believe this? That's the kind of mentality that tries to justify all kinds of illegal activity.

db

[master in training]

you have to think of this form other people's point of view as well, imagine if the house next door to you was empty and for sale then one day out fo the blue a guy turned up and took a drill to the lock or forced his way in some other way. i know i'd call the police! what would you do? without the papers to say the house is yours, you'd be arrested straight away.


~ Master in Training ~

[Mr Ules]

I wouldn't stick my nose where it doesn't belong. And by the way, it could be a locksmith going to open the lock. And, it all depends on the houses location.

[digital_blue]

I wouldn't stick my nose where it doesn't belong. And by the way, it could be a locksmith going to open the lock. And, it all depends on the houses location.

And, for this, I'm glad I'm not your neighbour. This is why you hear of stories of people being mugged in broad daylight and nobody does anything about it. What ever happened to looking out for each other?

BTW: in my previous post I started with "Are you serious B? At a glance I thought I was actually responding to MrB, not Mr Ules. Sorry for any confusion.

db

[Mr Ules]

The part your not getting is that I wouldn't care if the hosue was empty. EMPTY. That's why I wouldn't assume that someone was braking in. That's because there would be nothing in the house to steal. If there were neighbours living in the house, and someone started drilling their lock then I would call the police. But because a crime wouldn't appear to be committed to a house with no one in it, I could assume that it's the new owner trying to get in, or, a locksmith opening it for that person.
Please grasp the concept that no one is living in the house.

[Romstar]

The part your not getting is that I wouldn't care if the hosue was empty. EMPTY. That's why I wouldn't assume that someone was braking in. That's because there would be nothing in the house to steal. If there were neighbours living in the house, and someone started drilling their lock then I would call the police. But because a crime wouldn't appear to be committed to a house with no one in it, I could assume that it's the new owner trying to get in, or, a locksmith opening it for that person.
Please grasp the concept that no one is living in the house.

While I understand your argument, it isn't valid under the law.

The protection of property act covers even vacant dwellings.

It could be a rental property in between tenents. The people entering the property could be vandals intending to destroy the property, and cause hundreds, or even thousands of dollars of damage.

In either case, vacant or not, the police will want to see proof of ownership if they are called.

Romstar

[master in training]

my point exactly, only romstar put it better than i could

even if it was a locksmith, the owner would still need to be there with proof that they owned it, otherwise criminals could call locksmiths to open cars and houses for robberies.

i dont want to pick the locks on my door because someone would think i was trying to break in and would probably call the police.

[kodierer]

I am sure the realator has pictures of the house on the inside, and if they don't I am sure you can probably convince the realty company to give you a tour the day before the auction, or something.

[Johnny P]

I don't believe, in this particular case, that there is a realty company.

But as to other comments I've seen here:

As a locksmith I don't open anything without the owner being there with the proper ID, papers, or anything else showing me proof of ownership.

None of us know what is or is not in this house. The house was repo'd. The person or persons who had lived there may have left some things there.

There are those out there who will steal all the wiring in houses and other buildings to sell the copper for scrap. There could be some real nice fixtures such as fans, candelabra, etc. someone may want. May just be plain old vandals seeking to do damage for the fun of it.

Whether a house is empty has nothing to do with whether a neighbor would call the police. That's why there are so many community watch programs out there. Who's to say why someone may want to break into an empty house. Could be bums looking for a place to stay. Neighbors may not want bums in their neighborhood. Could be someone wanting to set up a crack house. You want one of those in your neighborhood?

Yeah, if I were a neighbor, I'd call the police too.

[32768]

There are those out there who will steal all the wiring in houses and other buildings to sell the copper for scrap. There could be some real nice fixtures such as fans, candelabra, etc. someone may want. May just be plain old vandals seeking to do damage for the fun of it.

This made me laugh because the first place I was involved in buying had all the copper pipe stripped out of it. Quite a few of the places that go up for auction here are missing the fireplace mantles and interesting staircase parts. So I'll second your point that there's quite a lot of crime that goes on in vacant houses. Also, it's in your best interest to call the police if you think someone's breaking in next door- especially if there's no one living there. Do you really want to live next door to a crack house, meth lab, or the next target of some kid who likes to start fires?

And to reiterate the point- there is no realty company. There are no photos. Most of these places were owned by an absentee landlord who either abandoned it or for some other reason didn't pay their property taxes. The city siezes the property and sells to to recover the tax money. They range from vacant lots to burned out shells to very nice houses you can move right into.

[NKT]

Indeed they do, but either way, we have no way of knowing if it is a true story or not.

If you are buying a house, you must have a fair amount of cash, especially if buying it cash on the courthouse steps.

Just call a locksmith, arrange for him to meet up with you two hours after you get your deeds, and he will get you in.

It is cheaper than bail.

[Peaky]

In the uk we have people that find an empty house that is either privatley owned , council owned etc it doesnt matter, if they like it they break in and move in, we call them squatters and unfortunatley here once they have moved in they seem to suddenly have rights and it becomes very hard to get them out again.

If it was me and i had no locksmith experiance but had a receipt in my hands that said i had bought the property, i would smash a window and then have it replaced, this would be a lot cheaper than buying the drill, generator (as you dont have access there is no power), hardplate drill bits (to get round anti drill pins) etc etc,

As most have said dont even think about it if you have no proof of ownership, i would consider an official receipt from the court as proof of ownership but i am in the uk and not usa,

I would go to your local police office and ask them what would be acceptable to do, afterall its them that you are worrying about and only they can give you the definate answer on that subject,

As for drilling your locks, it is very easy to work out what to do but to be honest there is a lot of myther involved (anti drill pins etc) if you have never done it before and dont know how or have the proper equipment,

Sort your legal issues out, then either give your local lockie a call or your local glazier, its up to you,

I am very sceptical with newbe's that want fast entry methods for things but the pure fact that you are prepared to stand at a door making all the noise drilling a lock out told me that you are probably on the straight, so good luck with the auction and i hope you get lucky.

[Varjeal]

Definitely sort out the legal stuff first. Then call a locksmith and get them to open the door for you. Provide to the lockie a copy of the receipt as provided by the courthouse or whatever official organization you've purchased the property from.

This covers the locksmith (he/she's done their due dilligence in acquiring proof of ownership of said property) and you've gained entry without harm to the premises. No one on this site is going to (or should) tell you how to drill the lock.

While the locksmith is there, ask them how much to rekey/upgrade the locks on the house, you might get a decent price for a package deal and get the works done at the same time.

You shouldn't need to wait for a clear title if you can provide a court-signed receipt that says you have purchased the property.

[Peaky]

Thats what i meant but was worded so much better