SOUTHERN OREGON —One Rogue River woman says she’s dealing with what she calls serial squatters on her property.
Lany Sullivan says her aunt owned this property on Jump Off Joe Creek Road in Grants Pass for around 10 years.
“My aunt put her heart and soul into remodeling that home 10 years ago when she bought it and it’s destroyed by someone who doesn’t give a crap,” said Sullivan.
She listed the property for sale and found a husband and wife to buy the property in May 2021.
“Everything was fine until it wasn’t, so they pushed her out and said they needed to move in by September 1st and they pushed and pushed and pushed and she said okay fine i’ll move out by August 31st and they never funded, they never closed the deal, they never funded,” said Sullivan.
Sullivan says her aunt has since passed away in December 2022 transferring ownership of the property to her. The couple moved into the property last summer. But she says she never saw the money and says the two won’t leave.
“Every week the money is coming, the wire is going to be at title on Monday, we can sign on Friday, and every week there was a different story, the money is hung up in Canada, we can’t get it wired into Oregon,” said Sullivan.
A squatter is a person who settles on land or occupies property without a title, right or payment of rent. Alice Lema is a broker at John L. Scott Real Estate, she says it happens more than you would think.
“Mostly we end up having to get attorneys involved, a lot of times we can resolve it just by addressing the specific issue of the person who won’t leave with money or helping them find another place to go,” said Lema.
Lema says both sides have rights and it’s important to know yours.
“My advice is to have some communication so you understand what it is they want and also try to get some good legal advice or contact the Southern Oregon Rental Owners Association.
Sullivan says she’s pursuing legal action against the two.
You can find out more about Landlord Tenant law here.
© 2024 KOBI-TV NBC5. All rights reserved unless otherwise stated.