What we see in Elmont 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.
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 four-bedroom on Harrison Street. A three-bedroom on Renfrew Avenue. A three-bedroom on Rosser Avenue. All of them in Elmont, all bought by us.
Elmont is roughly 37,296 people in Nassau County, ZIP 11003, and the housing stock is mostly cape cod, ranch, multi-family. Around Belmont Park and UBS Arena, most of it is old enough that the mechanicals are on their second or third life. The Elmont-UBS Arena stop pulls buyers who commute, which supports the good houses and does very little for the ones that need a roof. We know which of these streets take water, where the older systems fail first, and what the Elmont Union Free School District does to a resale price.
Listing a house with a holdover tenant still in it
A buyer with a mortgage has to hand their lender a property the lender could take possession of if it ever had to. A house with squatters in it is not that, so financed offers fall away as soon as the occupancy is disclosed.
We buy with our own funds. There is nobody behind us who needs the house empty, appraised from the inside, or documented to a standard the occupancy cannot meet.
What we bring to a squatter or holdover problem
Owners sometimes call us apologetically, as though having squatters in a property reflects on them. It does not. It happens to careful people, particularly with a house that sat empty after a death in the family or during a renovation.
We take it from wherever it is. Tell us what you know, we will tell you plainly what we can pay and what we would do next in your position, and we will put you in front of an attorney if that is what the situation needs.
How selling a house with squatters or holdover tenants in Elmont works
- 1
You tell us about the house
An address in 11003 and a rough idea of condition. Two minutes on the phone or the form. We do not need photographs, a clean house, or anything fixed first.
- 2
We come and look at it
One visit, one person, usually under half an hour. On a cape cod or ranch of the age most of Elmont was built, we are mainly looking at the roof, the boiler and the electric rather than the kitchen.
- 3
You get a number in writing
Within 24 hours, as a written figure rather than a range or a "starting around". Take it to a Nassau County agent for a second opinion if you want to. On a house already in showable condition, listing may well beat us, and we would rather you knew that.
- 4
You pick the closing date
Fast if you need fast, or months out if you are waiting on probate, a tenant, or somewhere to move to. Either way you skip the 88 to 103 days a listed Elmont house spends finding a buyer and then waiting on that buyer's mortgage.
You do not have to see the case through yourself
A pending case does not prevent a sale. It needs coordination between the attorneys, and in many situations the proceeding carries forward after closing rather than the owner having to finish it.
Tell us what has been filed, when, and where it currently stands. Your attorney and ours work out the sequencing between them. Owners are frequently relieved to learn that reaching the end of a holdover case is not a prerequisite for getting out.
What you do not pay when you sell a house with squatters or holdover tenants
Every line below is a cost of listing a house with squatters or holdover tenants the retail way that simply does not arise here.
- Agent commission
- $36,250 at 5% of the Elmont median none
- Seller closing costs
- About $14,500 on a $725,000 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 across the 88 to 103 days it takes to find a buyer and then wait on their lender none
Listing an Elmont house with an occupant in it
The honest comparison is our number against what a listing on a house with squatters in it produces here. Months of carrying a property that earns nothing, commission at the end, and a buyer pool limited to people who can close without a lender.
The median house in Elmont sold for $725,000 and took about 43 days to go under contract, then another 45 to 60 days waiting on the buyer's mortgage. That is 88 to 103 days in total, for a house that was ready to show on day one. We are happy to walk through it with you even if the conclusion is that you should wait.
Common questions
Will you buy an Elmont 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?
You have options and one of them is selling the house with the holdover tenants still in it. Proceedings in New York are slow and the timeline depends on the court, so knowing what the house is worth with the holdover tenants in place is useful information while you decide.
How long does it take to get somebody out?
Nobody should hand you a number. It depends on the court, on the specifics, and on things outside anyone's control. A landlord-tenant attorney who works in your county will give you the most realistic read available, and we can introduce you to one.
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 Elmont house is being sold?
Not from us. There is no sign, no listing and no photographs online. One visit and a private closing.