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Hello Forum - any help, advice or experience in the matter would be appreciated.
Situtation - Friend has a a lot with cabin on it and was renting it out for a year. After the renter left, two squatters appeared. The owner of the property does not live on the Island. I believe these people have been on the property for less than a year.
Does anyone on the forum have any experience in removing squatters, know a good real estate attorney. The owner was advised to serve the squatters with Notice of Trespass.
I don't understand why can't the police just remove them.
Any help would be appreciated.
Humanity is not what you can get out of others but what you an give to others.
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Recently our off-island friend had the same situation. So I contacted the County Prosecutor to ask for advice. He said to assemble the following information then file a police report:
Homeowner's name
Address of Hawaii house being occupied
Homeowner's mainland address
Homeowner's last stay in Hawaii
Date you noticed it was occupied with the squatters
Home furnishings (ex: sofa, bed, fridge, dining table, cd player, kitchen accessories, etc.)
*Note that the police might also want to know when the previous renters left
*Also might want to check to see if the squatters changed the electric or water bills to their names.
Anyway, we called the police and they came to our home where we filed a report. They went immediately to the property only to find it empty. So they spoke with the neighbors and asked them to call if the squatters returned. Well, the story has a happy ending. Two days later the neighbors were kind enough to call when the squatters returned. The police showed up and arrested the occupants (one of whom, turns out, was wanted for burglaries around Puna).
No lawyers were needed. Just some information and patience.
Best of luck!
Tim
A superior man is modest in his speech, but exceeds in his actions--Confucius
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Thank you so much for the advise.
Humanity is not what you can get out of others but what you an give to others.
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Also check to see if squatters are paying taxes on the property (yah, some do... but that is NOT good for the property owners... The reason for checking if any/all of the utilities & taxes have been taken on in someone name that is not the owner? the squatters may be attempting to take possession of the land by 'adverse possession' - not easy here, but that is when there may be more legal stuff to deal with...
Also the best reason to have at least SOMEONE on island looking into you place every once in a while... the longer no one notices, the more stuff the owner has to deal with...
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Thank so much Carey. I'm on the Island, so I will try to help the owner out in this matter.
Humanity is not what you can get out of others but what you an give to others.
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In adverse possession the squatters have to be in physical possession for a mininum of 20 years. And in open and hostile communication with registered property owner.
Not a realistic approach to property ownership IMHO.
Learned this in RE Law.
One Thing I can always be sure of is that things will never go as expected.
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Yes, Punafish. I read about the 20 year law as well. I believe these squatters have been there less than a year. I'm going to speak with the Police and see what they say. Thanks again for your comment.
Humanity is not what you can get out of others but what you an give to others.
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A couple of things you might try - - but keep it friendly and low key:
1) Take a photo of their car (if they have one) showing the license plate and safety sticker. If either license or safety is expired (good chance if they're squatters) they may wish to leave rather than have to discuss that with the police.
2) Explain that unpaid rent is considered reportable income on a tax return, or other financial documents (EBT, etc) The owner of the property considers the value to be $1500 per month. Could you have their names and social security info as they are considered residents, so this can be reported?
In the long run it might be better just to let the police handle it, or maybe just suggest those things (above) in a letter that you can leave when they're not around. Whatever you do, don't give them any incentive to trash the place on their way out.
"I'm at that stage in life where I stay out of discussions. Even if you say 1+1=5, you're right - have fun." - Keanu Reeves
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I saw a youtube video once of a guy in Puna who found a squatter on his property and when he politely asked him to go the squatter argued with him that he had permission from "the real" property owner to be there. I couldn't find the video just now when I looked for it but it ended with either a threatened or actual phone call to a probation officer and the squatter left quickly.
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I cannot leave the contact e-mail up any longer. I did it as long as I felt okay about it. This will work out with balance.
