neighbor issue - what can be done?

[♥ms.pacman♥]

so there's this guy (older man) in our neighborhood with issues. dont' even know where to begin, but the basic things are

-police have been called out to the house over a dozen times in the past month (and well before that as well). first for domestic disturbance (he was living with a girlfriend) then because of disputes with tenants. i must say this is highly unusual..we live in pretty nice neighborhood and the police are rarely out here.

-he has been renting rooms out to tenants he's found on CL (totally against HOA policy)...he gets into fights with them within a few days and then calls the cops/turns off the water and kicks them out..there have been 5 diff tenants in the past couple months (seems like most of them are young women). these tenants then put warning ads on CL against this guy

-his house went into foreclosure in October bc he stopped making payments (i was able to google and find the foreclosure being filed, it was October). apparently he though he is still living there though, and renting to tenants (i don't get how this is allowed??)

I've never met the guy (several houses down on the street, and i am never around during the day) but several of our neighbors have and describe him as very beligerent, seems like he has mental illness going unchecked. over past week several cop cars (as in 4+ cars at once) have been out at the house every other day. past few days, he has been going to peoples houses and knocking on random people doors. today he flagged down people as driving and asked them to drive him to a store, saying his car was stolen (it was repo'd). on our neighborhood fb page this is all what people have been talking about for the past couple weeks (e.g. watch out, xx is knocking on doors).

i am just figured i'd ask on the bbb what can be done, if anything. people are getting really freaked out. the police are involved, the HOA heads and even the city mayor is apparently aware of the situation but it sounds like it will be months before he can actually be removed from the house. i am confused too,as how he is still able to live in the house if he is no longer making payments, and foreclosure has been filed??? (i know nothing about real -estate..anyone who does please fill me in on how this works!) the fact that he no longer has a car is a bit freaky bc there is nothing (grocery, etc) within reasonable walking distance from here, so he will keep having to ask people to give him rides.

[ahisma]

I think I'd just sit and wait. It sounds like there is enough awareness that it will be resolved soon, one way or another. Mental illness is a rough spot, I feel for the man...and his neighbors. Hang in there! This too shall pass.

[belovedgandp]

Yeah it is just a waiting game. No experience with what he'll actually have to do behavior wise to get some needed attention, but I have lived next door to a house that was in foreclosure. Until the bank really wants it and shows up with the new locks, they can keep living there. In some cases it is in the bank's best interest because they are backlogged and at least the house isn't vacant. A total pain when you are living next door to the mess.

[AshleyAnn]

Sounds like all the appropriate people are involved, there are legal issues that must be handled so I'd just sit tight. If no one gives him a ride he will stop asking, especially if the police are called and he's cited for disturbing the peace everytime it happens.

A foreclosure being filed does not mean it has been finalized and eviction is 100% assured. Its common for a bank to file the foreclosure paperwork as soon as someone misses a payment even if they will work with the buyer, its a cya move. At least that is how I've seen it when running background checks in SC. I often will find someone who's has 3-4 foreclosures filed on the same property/mortgage.

[JJJJ]

I'm not expert but I have a close friend who was dealing with foreclosure on her house. They stopped making payments for 2.5 years, then the bank agreed to put their house on the market as a short sale. The short sale process took an additional year. All in all, took 3.5 years. This friend legally lived rent free for almost 4 years! It all really depends on the group of investors holding the loan and what they want to do with the property. Hopefully they will act fast on this neighbor of yours.
Did you happen to see notice of default or foreclosure listed on the property?

[specialp]

Foreclosure is transferring the title of the property:it's paper. It takes a while, but once the bank has title to the property, they can begin the process of obtaining physical possession. It's not a short process and with HOA involved as well, it sounds like a waiting game. Have you contacted the property manager for your HOA? There is a possibility the HOA has filed a lawsuit to enforce the covenants, but again, that takes a while.

[♥ms.pacman♥]

thanks everyone for the replies. what i found via google was the foreclosure notice, i think (it says "notice of [substitute] trustee sale") and says the instrument to be foreclosed is" - xxx address. It's dated Oct 1st.

And wow, I had absolutely no idea that it took so long after a foreclosure to remove someone from property. i get why they do it, but it also seems crazy to let someone live there rent-free for months, even years.

and yes i feel bad for the guy and hope he gets some help/intervention. some neighbors were saying they wished they knew a family member of his they could contact so he could get some help. But as for now there is really not much we can do except hope that he leaves the neighborhood. Most people who live here are families with young kids and people are getting pretty freaked out, with so many police visits to the house. I think people are not only scared of what he may do but what any tenants he finds may do (he is finding these people off CL...most are women, younger), or altercations he may have with them. One guy was saying he was out jogging and then he had to talk to police to give a statement as a witness bc he happened to see him getting into a fight with a tenant. the next day the city came to shut the water off to the house (i guess this is his way of pissing the tenants off..he shuts off the water/power).

and yeah the HOA heads are totally aware of the situation but it seems like their hands are tied. someone said they called the HOA office and it will take about 9 more months. it's just frustrating, to create such havoc and there's pretty much nothing that can be done.

[abh5e8]

so it sounds like your HOA pretty powerless to enforce any of their rules? i mean, if they know he is renting and its not allowed, why don't they do something? i thought that was the point of an HOA?

[♥ms.pacman♥]

so it sounds like your HOA pretty powerless to enforce any of their rules? i mean, if they know he is renting and its not allowed, why don't they do something? i thought that was the point of an HOA?
well yes, but i don't think they can forcibly evict someone from their home...isn't that only up to the police? (someone correct me if i'm wrong).

the HOA has stated that he violated 2 rules so far 1) renting out rooms and 2) not paying HOA dues (it's several hundred per year). they have sent letters warning that he has been in violation but not sure that will do anything. it seems at this point the only thing is to have him forcibly removed, which i'm pretty sure the HOA cannot do.

eta - his ex-wife just posted on FB neighborhood page, apologizing profusely for the situation and saying she did everything she tried to get him help, including having him committed, twice, which apparently did not help. he was abusive and eventually she had to get a restraining order on her & her daughter. she is the one that actually pushed the home into foreclosure so she didn't have to own a house with him, as he was uncooperative in the divorce (not final). she thought the bank would close on it in 45 days, and had no idea he could keep living there for so long. i am heartbroken for this poor woman, i cannot imagine dealing with this. she says she is going to trying to force the sale of the home as she wants to be done with it as well.

[specialp]

How this generally works in my state (and of course, every HOA is different): HOA through the property manager will send out three letters - one a month - so count on 3-4 months. Then they turn it over to the attorney who sends a letter out and demands enforcement within x # of days. Month 4-5 months. If no response, the attorney can file a lawsuit seeking to enforce. (And then once that is filed, the person has 30 days to respond. My point is it takes a long time.) The reason for all the letters: HOAs want to give every opportunity to the resident for a couple of reasons. One, lawyers cost money. A lot of covenants are written so that the legal fees incurred will be paid by the homeowner ... but if you think it hard to get people to follow the rules, just trying getting them to pay the legal fees it took to force them to follow the rules. (Some covenants also create a lien for unpaid dues). If he/she refuses, you have to get a court involved. It just isn't cheap to enforce them. Another reason is you want a paper trail to show the court that you did contact this person, put them on notice of a violation, and gave them every opportunity to fix the situation.