Squatters & Holdovers

Selling a Medford house with squatters or holdover tenants

Finding out that somebody is living in a property you own, with no current right to be there, is a particular kind of helpless. You own it, you pay for it, and you cannot get in the door.

We buy Medford houses in exactly that state. Squatters, holdover tenants, an occupant nobody can put a name to. You do not have to remove anybody before you sell.

What we see in Medford occupancy cases

Owners describe a surprising variety of the same problem. A tenant whose lease ended two years ago who still sends something occasionally. A relative of a former tenant who stayed after the tenant left. People who moved into a vacant house nobody was watching closely.

We have bought houses out of all of those. The label matters to a court and to your attorney. To us it is a set of facts that goes into the number.

Dealing with squatters or holdover tenants in Medford: garage lined with shelving, tools and stored gear
Dealing with squatters or holdover tenants in Medford? We buy houses full of belongings as-is. Pictured: garage lined with shelving, tools and stored gear.

When squatters mean you cannot get into your own property

The part owners find hardest is the access. You are responsible for the property, the taxes, the insurance and anything that goes wrong inside it, and you cannot simply walk in to look.

We do not ask you to. We will not request that you force entry on anybody, and we do not make an interior inspection a condition of the offer. We price what we can see, assume conservatively about the rest, and tell you exactly what we assumed.

Why local knowledge changes the number

A house on Edward Avenue. A house on Sipp Avenue. Both in Medford, bought and paid for by us.

Medford is roughly 24,247 people in Suffolk County, ZIP 11763, and the housing stock is mostly ranch, hi-ranch, cape cod. Around Route 112 and Horse Block Road, most of it is old enough that the mechanicals are on their second or third life. The Medford stop pulls buyers who commute, which supports the good houses and does very little for the ones that need a roof. We have been buying across Suffolk County for 15+ years. We know what the Patchogue-Medford School District does to a resale price, which blocks still have oil tanks in the ground, and what a house like yours is actually worth here.

Squatters, holdovers and a Medford buyer's lender

There is also what a listing does to the situation itself. Photographs online, a sign on the lawn in Medford and strangers arriving on weekends is not a sensible way to handle a property with squatters in it.

We do none of that. One conversation, a written number, and nothing that announces anything to anybody.

How we help Medford owners with squatters or holdovers

The first thing worth having is a landlord-tenant attorney who does this work regularly, and we know who they are on Long Island. Whether you sell to us or not we will make that introduction, because the law here is specific and good advice early changes what the situation costs you.

The second thing is a genuine option. We buy houses with squatters and holdover tenants in place, close on your date, and take the occupancy on ourselves. You are not asked to resolve anything first.

How selling a house with squatters or holdover tenants in Medford works

  1. 1

    You give us the address

    The street address in 11763 and a sentence or two about the condition, by phone or the form. No photos needed, and nothing has to be cleaned or repaired first.

  2. 2

    A quick look in person

    We visit once and it rarely takes more than half an hour. On the ranch or hi-ranch houses that make up most of Medford, we check the roof, the boiler and the electric before anything cosmetic.

  3. 3

    You see the number

    Within a day you get our offer as one written figure. Get a Suffolk County agent's opinion alongside it if that helps. For a house that could go on the market as it stands, listing may come out ahead, and we will tell you if so.

  4. 4

    The date is up to you

    Close quickly, or set a date months ahead to fit probate, a tenant or your own move. Either way there is no 70 to 85 days of a Medford listing looking for a buyer and waiting on a mortgage approval.

Selling a Medford house in the middle of a case

Owners who have already started a holdover case often assume they are committed to seeing it through. Usually they are not committed to seeing it through personally.

We have taken houses on mid-proceeding more than once. The costs and the waiting from that point become ours. What matters for the offer is an accurate picture of where things stand, including anything that has not gone your way, because surprises late in a deal help nobody.

What you do not pay when you sell a house with squatters or holdover tenants

These are the costs of putting a house with squatters or holdover tenants on the market through an agent. None of them apply when you sell to us.

Agent commission
$29,278 at 5% of the Medford median
none
Seller closing costs
About $11,711 on a $585,554 sale. We can cover these.
none
Repairs to make it listable
Whatever the house needs, paid up front
none
Cleanout and removal
Per truckload, before anyone views it
none
Carrying costs while it waits
Taxes, insurance and utilities while you spend 70 to 85 days finding a buyer and waiting for their loan
none

The comparison, made honestly

The median house in Medford sold for $585,554 and took about 25 days to go under contract, then another 45 to 60 days waiting on the buyer's mortgage. That is 70 to 85 days in total, for a house that was ready to show on day one. That assumes a property that shows well and can be handed over empty. A house with squatters in it can do neither, which is why these listings tend to sit and then sell to a cash buyer anyway.

You can start at that point rather than arrive at it in four months with days on market attached to the house.

Common questions

Will you buy a Medford house with squatters in it?

Yes. We buy houses with squatters in place and take the occupancy on after closing. Nobody asks you to remove anyone, fund anyone's departure, or finish a case first.

My tenant's lease ended and they will not leave. What now?

That is a holdover situation, and the first call is a landlord-tenant attorney, because the New York rules here are specific and they change. We can give you a name. Alongside that we can make you an offer on the house as it stands, so you can see both roads at once.

How long does it take to get somebody out?

Longer than owners expect, and that is the honest answer. Proceedings in New York are slow. If the uncertainty is the part you cannot live with, selling moves it off your side of the table entirely.

Do you need to get inside before making an offer?

We prefer it, and we work with what is possible. Not being able to get inside is one of the defining features of these situations, so we plan for it rather than treat it as a surprise.

Will the neighbors know the Medford house is being sold?

Nothing about the sale is public until it closes. That matters more than usual here, because a property with squatters in it does not need the extra attention.

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