The property was filled to the brim with garbage that appeared to be decades old and there was so much junk and debris in the house that we could not access the second story at all. 

Our team could not stay for longer than a couple of minutes inside this two-story, single-family home when we first inspected it. The combination of an accumulation of trash, pest infestation, and feces, as well as years of neglect, meant that anyone entering it was highly likely to get sick. We were shocked to find a property so unkempt and rubbish-strewn in a college town. While the home was decaying, the owner’s son continued to reside illegally in a tent in the backyard of the property and utilized an extension cord to get electricity from the house, creating a severe risk of fire. Throughout this receivership, the owner’s son continued to try to access the property, even though it was not safe to be on-site, at one point breaking in and changing the locks.

Photos of the Nuisance Property Prior to Receivership

California Receivership Group Balances Supporting the Owner’s Wishes with Ensuring that the Property Did Not Fall Back into its Previously Perilous Condition

During the case, we came to find that the owner herself had been living in a motel with her granddaughter. California Receivership Group is committed as much as we legally can to humane and compassionate efforts to help property owners find safe replacement housing. Thus, we reached out to the owner numerous times to offer her our assistance in finding long-term, alternative housing, and to provide her with the funds to move. Each time she refused our help. We renovated this property and it was only after the work was complete, almost a year into the case, that the owner contacted us to express her wish to obtain a reverse mortgage and move back into the house. While her application was pending, she moved back on-site and, even though we had been discharged from this case, we continued to check the property to make sure that she was keeping it in good condition and not letting it lapse back into the state it had been in when we were appointed. We fully supported her efforts to get a reverse mortgage, although her application was unsuccessful. Eventually, the owner sold the property herself.

Photos of the Nuisance Property After Receivership