What we see in Freeport 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.
No access, and how we work around it
An unseen interior gets priced as an unseen interior and we are straightforward about it. There is a real difference between a house we have walked and a house we have not, and we would rather explain that difference than pretend it away.
What does not change is our willingness to buy. Squatters or holdover tenants in the property do not put us off, and we will not use an inspection we could not do as a reason to cut the number later.
Why local knowledge changes the number
A three-bedroom estate sale on North Long Beach Avenue. A four-bedroom on Westside Avenue. A four-bedroom on Laurel Road. All of them in Freeport, all bought by us.
Freeport is roughly 43,713 people in Nassau County, ZIP 11520, and the housing stock is mostly cape cod, ranch, colonial. Around Freeport Nautical Mile and Freeport LIRR station, most of it is old enough that the mechanicals are on their second or third life. The Freeport stop pulls buyers who commute, which supports the good houses and does very little for the ones that need a roof. We have bought enough here to know which streets take water, which blocks still have oil tanks in the ground, and what the Freeport Public Schools does to a resale price.
Why an ordinary buyer cannot close on this house
There is also what a listing does to the situation itself. Photographs online, a sign on the lawn in Freeport 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.
What we bring to a squatter or holdover problem
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 Freeport works
- 1
You give us the address
The street address in 11520 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
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 Freeport was built, we are mainly looking at the roof, the boiler and the electric rather than the kitchen.
- 3
You see the number
Within a day you get our offer as one written figure. Get a Nassau 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
Closing happens on your date
If you need it done quickly, it can be. If probate, a tenant or a move means waiting, we wait. What you skip is the 92 to 107 days a Freeport listing usually spends on finding a buyer and then on that buyer's lender.
You do not have to see the case through yourself
If nothing has been filed yet, that is fine as well, and nothing needs filing before we buy. Whether starting something makes sense for you ahead of a sale is a question for a landlord-tenant attorney, and the answer turns on facts we would not want to guess at.
We will buy the house either way. The squatters or holdover tenants come with it.
What you do not pay when you sell a house with squatters or holdover tenants
Listing a house with squatters or holdover tenants the usual way brings each of these costs with it. Selling to us brings none of them.
- Agent commission
- $33,000 at 5% of the Freeport median none
- Seller closing costs
- About $13,200 on a $660,000 sale. We can cover these. none
- Repairs to make it listable
- Whatever it takes to make it listable, paid in advance none
- Cleanout and removal
- Dumpsters or haulers by the load, ahead of any viewing none
- Carrying costs while it waits
- Taxes, insurance and utilities across the 92 to 107 days it takes to find a buyer and then wait on their lender none
What the listed route realistically looks like
The median house in Freeport sold for $660,000 and took about 47 days to go under contract, then another 45 to 60 days waiting on the buyer's mortgage. That is 92 to 107 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 Freeport 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 Freeport house is being sold?
Not from us. There is no sign, no listing and no photographs online. One visit and a private closing.