I had someone answer our roommate ad (I am the owner) she needed a place bad but weonly told her she can stay in a different "extra" room until she found a place (I basically helped a homeless person) by 7 days she wanted out and we wanted her out too. We gave her until may 26 (over 30 days to find a new place) no money taken, no application, nothing. Now she says she can not leave (she has no money) now she is threatened to report us for things she see that are unfit or legal (we have insurance etc) (that is a different topic) we are in California, can we remove her items from our house (at least to the driveway) w/o doing something illegal? Please help. She is making us crazy ps she has not paid her car insurance/registration/smog etc (can I have her car towed from our driveway?)

If she has never paid you any rent, never signed any paperwork, and you asked her to leave, you can remove her belongings from your propery. She has no legal claims here and cannot do anything to you. She was invited as a guest and has overstayed her welcome. Just be careful and make sure she is there when you remove her belongings to the driveway. She can sue you if her possessions turn up missing.

P.S. You may want to call the police and ask them if they have an officer who will be available as a witness when you do this.

In alotta states, her car will be impounded by the state. Does she have a lien on the car? Call them and tell them where to find it! No sense holding onto this kind of cr@p! Am I too insensitive?

No, CR, you are not being too insensitive at all! I think that is a great idea. Acctggirl is the unfortunate victim of a scam artist. They prey on kind hearted people.

Acctggirl, get as many witnesses as possible when you throw her out on the street. Make sure that she cannot claim that you took anything of hers and that you allowed someone to steal from her.

acctggirl, I would never lecture you on being too nice. You did a nice thing and this woman is taking advantage of you. I am amending my first post to tell you to put her possessions next to her car or on the curb off your property. If you can't get the police to witness this when you do it, get the officer's name that you have told your story to. Then, get as many people as you can to be your witnesses. If she refuses to pack up her car and leave, then call the police and tell them she is trespassing and refuses to leave your property. They will come out then. Don't let her try to con them. Be prepared for this woman to claim that she is a renter who has paid. Tell them what you have told us, give them the officer's name who you first spoke to about it and your conversation with him/her, and ask them to ask her for a receipt or a rental agreement. Since she doesn't have anything to back up her claim, they will force her to leave.

Thank you thank you Ruby Pitbull, please wish us luck. May 26 is the deadline that we gave her. I am also afraid of her. I have to lock myself in my room when I am home. In my own home!
I will let you all know of the outcome next weekend! Prayers and crossed fingers and eyes welcome! :) p.s. is she considered a tenant? Ps she has a massive amoun of boxes, she keeps piling up and piling up when we are not home. So this move will take hours! This is a very big house in l.a. so she must think we have money or something.

p.s. she does not have money to sue us, but matches are free. I am afraid she will do something scary

Put her boxes and junk inside that car. If its stolen and gets towed you are free and clear.

I am so sorry you are scared. No, she is not considered a tenant if she has never paid you. As I said, she is a guest in your home that has overstayed her welcome. Frankly, I wouldn't wait until the 26th at this point if she is continuing to move her possessions in. I think you should call the police now and tell them your situation and ask them if she can be removed as a trespasser. If you are fearing for your safety, that is a huge concern. You shouldn't be living like a prisoner in your own house. If the police are of no help, contact a real estate attorney. Usually the initial consultation is free. It will be well worth the money for whatever advice they can give to you, and if he/she calls the police and request they remove her for trespassing.

P.S. Once she is out, change the locks!

Thank you for all your time and advice. Well we will do our best to contact the police when we get home tonight.

I am going to be a pain in the butt here, and add something else. I forgot about your question regarding towing. Yes, you can have her towed. But, tell the police about her not complying with the law re: her car. THAT will be of great interest to them and may be an added help in getting them to come to your house.

I don't know about Ca, but the state I live in has such a bad loophole for these free loaders...
You may have to start an eviction... no lie.

A lady answered an add for one of my husbands rental properties.
On the day he was suppose to show her the inside, she called and said that she had a prier appointment that she had forgotten about that conflicted with their meeting time.
She asked if he could leave the door open so she could take a look later on that evening.
My husband told her that would be fine.
The next day he went to the house to lock it back up, but she had moved in over night.
He had to go through the eviction process and it took 3 months because of a loophole in the system.
He couldn't throw her or her stuff out...
She got to live in a nice house for 3 months free and legally.

Don't expect her to leave on her own or by the dead line - chances are she won't leave until the law says she has to leave.
People who do this, do it for a living and know all the loophole and everything they can get away with.

You need to contact the law and you may need to start the eviction.
Like I said, I don't know the laws there, but you need to talk to the law to find out what you need to do to get rid of her.

When that lady moved into our rental home, we thought the cops would kick her out on her quester in a flash... we were dead wrong...

Getting someone out can take a lot of time... the sooner you start, the better... If you don't do something now, after her deadline, you may be stuck with her for even longer...

I don't want to scare you, I just want to share with you our experience of a free loader and the loopholes that they manipulate so that she can't take advantage of you anymore than she already is...

Good luck to you.

Kae

Kae, that is awful! If someone did that to me, I would have moved her out of the house immediately. She didn't have the keys. I would have let her try to sue me. Without keys or a lease she wouldn't have had much of a case.

Hopefully, acctggirl will find out what her options are tonight and let us know. I would imagine that inviting someone to stay in your home is handled differently than a rental property would be.

Kae, you got sucker punched. That overnight tenant should have been charged with theft by deception. Didn't you call the police? CA does have some quirky laws, is that where you are? She would have been considered a squatter at best in most states.

Kae, that is awful! If someone did that to me, I would have moved her out of the house immediately. She didn't have the keys. I would have let her try to sue me. Without keys or a lease she wouldn't have had much of a case.

Hopefully, acctggirl will find out what her options are tonight and let us know. I would imagine that inviting someone to stay in your home is handled differently than a rental property would be.


I sure hope that in her case it's handled differently as well.

Perhaps if my husband would have stormed in the house and thrown her and her stuff out right then and there (without involving the law), then locked the house back up and left her on the side of the road, it would have been his word against hers...
But he called the cops, since the house is a rental and he left the door open for her to look at the property, he was at fault and had to go through the eviction process.
The woman knew this loophole and had been doing the same scam over and over again for free places to live - legally.

She's probably still doing it.

OK friends, we just got back from the police dept. and he suggested that we contact a lawyer and basically she has a key and stuff in my house,so this is her place to live until we start evictions. This evil woman stays in our house all day while we are at work. Now we realize that she is "investigating" our home to found out how she can report us to our insurance co, I know this is BS but she is making me ill and I can not believe how stupid I was to help her out. Anyone see "pacific heights?" thank you all for helping and taking the time to listen to me

Rubypitbull, I did tell the policeman about her car (no tags, no insurance, no registration) and he did not do anything. He was sympathetic and heard us and saw that we are nice people, but I guess they have bigger fish to fry in los angeles, this is so sickening. We are getting married next month and I can not take this anymore, what did I do?

It sounds like you might need a restraining order. Then if she violates that, the police will step in on your behalf.

acctggirl,
I do wish you luck.
It's a shame that freeloaders have this "power".
There BS ruins it for those who are less fortunate that have a good heart and just need a helping hand to get back on their feet.

Why is she trying to find a way to turn you into the insurance co.
What an ungrateful B_!

Let us know how it goes.

Kae

Do not worry about the insurance company. They may find something out of line but it now gives you a chance to rectify the problem prior to a claim being denied. She could actually be doing you a small favor.

Acctggirl, I am so sorry you are going through this. No one needs this kind of stress in their lives. You and your fiancé should ask around and see if anyone has a good recommendation for an attorney. You need a real shark to handle this situation. Please keep us updated. Legally, we can't really help but we will try as much as possible to be emotionally supportive of you. :)

Thank you all for listening. We contacted some CA attorneys last night and they assured me that she is not a renter and that she does not have rights. They gave us some advice that we will follow this evening. Wish us luck. We are willing to even pay her first month storage rent as long as she gets out. We would only be out $100 or so. I think it's worth it. I did see that she posted an ad on craigslist saying that she needed a place "now" so that is giving me hopes!

I am sending positive thoughts your way! Let us know the outcome.

I would make sure the sheriff's department was present, if possible, when you move her stuff out, and I agree with Ruby, CHANGE THE LOCKS, now! I also agree with witnesses being present. She is a trespasser, not a tenant and definitely not a guest. Don't wait, and I would do this when she is not around, if possible, and make sure the locks are changed before she returns and the authorities are notified in advance of your situation. Good luck!

I had someone answer our roommate ad (i am the owner) she needed a place bad but weonly told her she can stay in a different "extra" room until she found a place (I basically helped a homeless person) by 7 days she wanted out and we wanted her out too. we gave her until may 26 (over 30 days to find a new place) no money taken, no application, nothing. now she says she can not leave (she has no money) now she is threatened to report us for things she see that are unfit or legal (we have insurance etc) (that is a different topic) we are in california, can we remove her items from our house (at least to the driveway) w/o doing something illegal? please help. she is making us crazy ps she has not paid her car insurance/registration/smog etc (can i have her car towed from our driveway?)
I had a return call on my own situation from an eviction service who stated several times what a tenant at will is. Your 'guest' is a tenant at will, which means you can legally evict her. If there is no landlord-tenant contract or rent paid, the person becomes a tenant at will and an unlawful detainer can be processed. You have to serve her and give 30 days written notice to vacate. I'm sure your attorney has probably already advised you of this. Hope things work out, let us know!

Hello Friends, I Managed To Get A Hold Of Her Last Night. She Used Every Excuse In The Book When We Told Her She Needed To Vacate, " No Truck", I Told Her "i Had One Ready Sat Morning." Then She Said "no One To Help Her Move," I Said "we Are Ready Sat Am Even My 7 Yr Old Will Be There To Help, I'll Bring Bagels" Then She Said "no Place To Take Her Belongings To", Then I Said "no Problem I Reserved A Storage Unit In Her Name" Then She Said She Had "no Money" I Said "we Would Take Care Of The Truck And First Months Rent" (all Of This Is Under $100 A Small Price To Pay) Then She Was Left With No More Excuses, Before She Knew, She Was Signing A Letter Promising She Will Vacate The Premises And All Her Belongings And Return Her Key And Go With My Fiancé To Get The Keys To The Storage. So Wish Us Luck. I Think I See A Light And The End Of The Tunnel. Also She Said That She Did Not Want Any Other This Stuff As She "intends" To Move Out Sooner That Our Deadline, Well I Said "sign It Anyway, Then You Know If Something Falls Through You Can Have This...." This Was The Only Way We Could Get Her Stuff Out If We Moved It Ourselves. She Also Signed The Letter Saying She Give Us Permisson To Load The Truck And Take It To The Storage Unit. The Rental Agreement Is Under Her Name! She Just Signs And Picks Up The Keys.

Pray This Works In Our Favor!! I Even Tricked Her Into Giving Me Her Key So I Can "make A Copy" She's Been Frantic About That. I Have Not Given It Back. But I Think I Will Give It Back, She Was Running Down The Street This Morning Chasing Me To Get The Key. I Just Waved And Said I Was Running Late
Phew! That Was Scary

P.s I Do Not Want To Serve Her As She Will Know She Has 3-6 Mos Of Free Lodging Until The Courts Rule, Right? I Feel That This Plan Works. And I Will Also Have Karma On My Side. Even Though She Does Not Deserve Anything Nice To Her, But Maybe I Am Being Tested To See How 'mean" I Can Be And I Am Not Going To Fall For That Trick.

acctggirl! You have handled this beautifully! Bravo to you! You have painted her into a corner. Continue being nice and non-confrontational and follow through as you have planned. If this goes as smoothly as it did last night, you don't have to worry about retribution. Let us know how the story ends. :)

Acct,
That plan was brilliant! I really hope and think that it will work out for you.

And Yes if you have her served, you may have to wait months before she has to be out. It all depends on how far the courts are backed up.

Wishing you lots of luck!

Thanks kae and ruby for your support. Only a few days to go and we will be rid of her. Trust me it's hard to be nice, by the way I kept stalling about giving her back the key, she left notes and notes by my door all night and this morning to remind me to give her back the key, they we getting crazier and crazier, so I ignored her notes and left for work

I exited the bottom floor of the house then she started chasing me while I was driving. I called her later on the phone saying " i meant to make a copy but got all busy with my wedding plans "stupid me.. my bad" played that game for awhile,then tomorrow i will say it must have fallen out of my pocket. let me look for it or maybe i left it in my office." I had to say something like that to calm her down.

But I think as long as I have her signed letter.she could refuse to go to the storage,but then I have her "permission " on the letter stating that we can help her move,so if she calls the cops they can not do anything.

Oh by the way,when she was running after me this morning, she thought I was going to take the car the was in front of hers so then she knew I would have to ask her to move her car so I get out, then she would have the opportunity to demand the key back, but I planned to take my fiance's car that was parked the street on purpose ,so she was probably looking out her window. I heard her calling for me but played the I did not hear,so because I threw her this curve ball with the car she must have forget to wear a jacket or something because I saw all these slashes all over her arms... not cats scratches either, definitely self mutilation here. Sick!

Yes, she sounds like a deeply disturbed woman. Keep avoiding the key issue. By tomorrow morning, it will be a non-issue. You may want to consider changing the cylinder on the lock that the key fits, just to be on the safe side. Do it after you have completely moved her out. If you can, call a locksmith today and see if he can come over to do it tomorrow afternoon. Or, if you or your fiancé are handy, you can go to a hardware store, pick up a new cylinder or lockset, and replace it yourselves, depending on what type of set you have on that door.

I would avoid giving the key back to her like you're doing and Ruby suggested
Changing the locks too which I think is a good idea.

I learned a lesson the hard way long ago because I too had compassion for those less fortunate than myself.
If someone who's in need is offered a hand up and they choose not to use it as an opportunity to better themselves,
They are just looking for handouts and suffering in their misfortune because of their own wrong doing.

You're handling this remarkably well!

How long until you move all her stuff out?