How do I get somebody off my land?

[TucsonAZ]

Okay so, I have 2 acres of land only less than 30 minutes from downtown Tucson, septic and such are on the property, I used to live on it in fact.

I have let a few RVers stay on it for a couple weeks here and there and did the same thing with a guy back in March or April of this year. Seemed like a solid guy and I would have been open to something longer term with him but I just gave him a note saying he was good to go until the end of that month and had to be gone by that time.

As some of you may know, I was gone for months and expected him to be gone when I got back as well which as I'm sure you've guessed, he isn't. He's a hot head, no drivers license, ahhh, confrontational, not somebody I really want to deal with. I would like to be able to offer the property up to somebody else for the winter months but there isn't much I can do with him there.

I'm not sure what if any rights he has being that it's a land only situation but I would really like him gone for my own peace of mind as well as to not feel taken advantage of.

For the record, I'm an assertive person, I've just had some legal issues this year and really don't wanna deal with the added stress, I just want the guy to go away as I have been more than nice and he's been there 6 or 7 months now rent free.

Any thoughts, ideas? Anybody want a good deal on two nice acres in Arizona for the winter?

 

[WildTrappist]

You can file a restraining order and he will be escorted off your land by the police. When you meet again in court you can arrange a time for him to come get his belongings. A time and circumstance that works for you.

 

[LeeRevell]

Check with the local law. Eviction notice can be served, but usually can take weeks to get him off. Since you let him squat, you likely cannot use 'trespass' as a leverage tool, though here in Florida armed trespass is a third degree felony.

 

[kyonu]

Threat of law always shuts up confrontational people. He has no contract, thus has no right. Just tell him calmly, coolly, and just once, "I need you off my property immediately or I will call the cops" and walk away. No need to get into an argument, just walk away. He should be gone by the next few days.

 

[Patrick46]

I'm with the WildTrappist....get a restraining order.

But I'd first write a letter and hand give it to him, reviewing the original time limit he was given, how much longer has has stayed UNWELCOMED on the land, and that he has to leave within 48 hours, or legal action will be pursued.
I would NOT talk to him...as he can always claim "Well he NEVER TOLD me I had to leave!!"

This is why I think it's best to 'write' everything down, and give him a copy, keep one for your own records, and send one along with your request for the restraining order...and make sure you tell the courts that he received a copy of this letter as well. NOTHING beats a good paper trail!! This also is good as it gets you to review the exact timeframes and dates as each step of this story unfolded. (be sure to include the part where you told him he needed to go when you were gone, and was still there when you returned.)

This SUCKS!!! I feel for ya man!! Ya try to be a nice guy, and someone takes advantage of you.....UGHHHHHH!!!!!

I hope this works out quickly and quietly for you....soon!!!

 

[Lucky mike]

Ditto ...what patrick said!!

Also because you allowed him to start an eviction process is necessary..... spend the money it costs to have a deputy serve him the papers.

go to the courts and immediately start the paperwork....8 out of ten times they are gone right afterwords

sorry for your head aches ......prepare for a clean- up never had a tennant that was forced out that didnt leave one big vindictive mess when they left .....pay close attention to your septic entrances

 

[WildTrappist]

If you write him a letter, send a registered/return receipt letter to him in the mail. There will be proof he got it. On paper.
I have experience with such things.
As you already have negative experience and feel confronted by him, and as you have already asked him politely to vacate to no avail, I think the next step is to file a restraining order. The local police will serve him and give him 15 minutes to gather what he can to leave. After that you will meet him in court and it is basically your call when he gets to collect the rest of his stuff.
~Alla

 

[Lucky mike]

Keep in mind before you take advice from anyone of us........I dont know what state your land is in so check the laws first on removing a tenant from the property.....if you just assume it could end up costing you instead of him..........call the local PD first and get there opinion on it!.....you might get lucky and your tenant has legal issues that could get him removed for you!!!

 

[66788]

Keep in mind before you take advice from anyone of us........I dont know what state your land is in so check the laws first on removing a tenant from the property.....if you just assume it could end up costing you instead of him..........call the local PD first and get there opinion on it!.....you might get lucky and your tenant has legal issues that could get him removed for you!!!

Being a licensed attorney in California, I can tell you what CA law is, but your state may be different.

First of all the most important issue is that of the status of his occupancy of the land. There appears to be no landlord tenant relationship since you didn't charge him rent. He is a guest on your property. In CA you could call the local Sheriff or PD and have him evicted from your property for trespass. No court, no lawyer, just Johnny Law.

If however, a simple occupancy has somehow created a landlord tenant relationship, then it becomes a horse of a different color. You would need to bring an unlawful detainer action against him in civil court. This is a summary proceeding, but can cost between $400 to $1,500.00. If you use a lawyer it will be towards the upper end.

Beware that Law Enforcement does not like situations like this and their favorite cop out is "that's a civil matter". They just don't want to work.

Call the Sheriff and see what happens. If that doesn't work, call a lawyer.

 

[light trip]

It's your land, buy ten kegs of beer and invite some bikers for the weekend. :angel:

 

[highdesertranger]

put a cheap fence around the property put no trespassing signs up and call the cops. when the cops get there meet them first, tell them you asked him to leave and he got belligerent, you got scared and fearful then called them. highdesertranger

 

[MikeRuth]

Could be you smelled some foul odors coming from the camp and thought the sheriff should know!

Or use light trips idea. I kinda like that too.

 

[TucsonAZ]

All are some awesome ideas, thank you all very much! I would like to be a little removed from the situation. Here are the up sides, this is a 2 acre lot with two different addresses, the letter I gave him was for the one he isn't on currently. He's getting water from the line on the property but disconnected something so he isn't paying for it, he just has it on a slow drip so they don't notice. I'm guessing he won't present well to the sheriff if they show up, he's had a lot of driving while suspended and legal issues over the years. I'm not sure what else I can think of, I know he has a rifle in his motor home, smokes a little weed here and there. I have no issues with any of these things personally, I'm mentioning them as leverage though honestly, I was hoping the guy would just move on before things reached that point. I could post some type of listing on craigslist I'm sure, would be happy to let somebody else have the property for the next 6 months if they can resolve this issue.

 

[arizonatruck]

For the most part, people won't fight your battles for you unless they are paid to, like the police.

---

Or unless they are part of your "tribe" and know you pretty well. I try not to have conflict in my life, but sometimes it arises. If you know someone that can be with you, probably a guy, would help get him off the land.

 

[Tumbleweed032]

Unfortunately you made the mistake of giving him permission to stay on your property, so now he has rental rights (even though he's not paying rent). The laws are set up in his favor from bad landlords just kicking somebody out for no reason. Your going to have to go through the courts to have him removed, and that could take months.

---

I remember watching on the news about a family in the Los Angeles area that fired their nanny because she did absolutely nothing, and she refused to leave and they were powerless to get her out of their house.

 

[66788]

Lots of really bad advice here. Good luck.

 

[Patrick46]

I remember watching on the news about a family in the Los Angeles area that fired their nanny because she did absolutely nothing, and she refused to leave and they were powerless to get her out of their house.

I'll bet they feel so much better after reading this post!!

Nothing like positive words of encouragement!!

 

[morongobill]

Better get rid of him before he gets squatter status. If you find out he paid the taxes for the parcel, look out

He might be smarter than you think.

 

[Patrick46]

Do ya seriously think this freeloader has paid anything, much less the property taxes, Bill???

Highly doubtful in my book!!!



Any updates on this story?? Didya get this guy out, TucsonAZ??

 

[morongobill]

Probably not but appearances can be deceiving.

Like the old saying about possession being 9/10 of the law, squatters after a certain period of time which varies from locale to locale, and after paying the property taxes can get title to a property.

In this case, the guy may not be smart enough to know that.

But it is a valid point to bring up as there has been interest expressed on the forums in acquiring land as well as folks who own land that they might not visit very often. I think it's called adverse possession.

My personal opinion is he should go onto his land with a few big buddies and physically drag his sorry as- off the property, along with the ramshackle rv, at gunpoint if necessary.

Or perhaps pull a page out of the military playbook by renting some huge high powered speakers and placing them close by and blast out opera at earsplitting levels till the jerk gives up and skedaddles. Worked with Noriega but it took a while.