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A Friend's Dilemma: Blessing or Curse?


oldiesman
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A friend confided in me a problem she is experiencing, am looking for advice or answers from someone that may have experience.

She inherited some property (a small house) last year as joint ownership with another friend of the deceased.    The death is very sad but the inheritance sounds wonderful, except, the other owner is nowhere to be found.   The best guess is, the other friend is hiding and doesn't want to sell or rent the house right now, so she is avoiding speaking to my friend.   All efforts have been made to ask the other owner to contact the other friend, to discuss and decide what to do with the house.   In the meantime, bills are adding up.   Electric and gas, etc.   Taxes, etc.  

The one friend who wants to do something with the house is stuck, basically, until the other friend decides they want to take some action.

The one friend cannot be located.  She may be out of town, on the road.   I was told that her house hasn't been lived in for a couple of months which leads people to believe she is on the road.   She isn't sick-- her family has notified the one friend that she is ok and healthy.

If this were your dilemma, what would you do?   All opinions and questions welcome.

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31 minutes ago, oldiesman said:

If this were your dilemma, what would you do?

If this was my dilemma I would seek qualified legal advice instead of turning to armchair experts on the internet.

Edited by waysider
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She has done that and continuing.   Was informed there is a legal action called "partition" that one may file against another to try and get relief.   However, it does cost a lot of money; and there's an issue with trying to serve the absent owner.   All opinions (even armchair) welcome at this point.

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48 minutes ago, oldiesman said:

She has done that and continuing.   Was informed there is a legal action called "partition" that one may file against another to try and get relief.   However, it does cost a lot of money; and there's an issue with trying to serve the absent owner.   All opinions (even armchair) welcome at this point.

Which costs more, letting the bills pile up?  Or hiring someone to find the other party and pursue legal action?  

A long term rental property could be quite the asset.  There's an opportunity cost in not using it.  Maybe find a real estate expert, the value of the property may go up whether it's used or not.  Any expense could be recouped and then some later.

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3 hours ago, oldiesman said:

She has done that and continuing.   Was informed there is a legal action called "partition" that one may file against another to try and get relief.   However, it does cost a lot of money; and there's an issue with trying to serve the absent owner.   All opinions (even armchair) welcome at this point.

it's going to mean additional costs, but she could employ the services of a skip tracer - that is a person whose job is to locate people who are missing or have defaulted on a debt. There are reputable skip tracers out there who are often employed by law enforcement, attorneys, IRS, and others who go about the business of finding someone using legitimate/legal means.

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2 hours ago, Bolshevik said:

Which costs more, letting the bills pile up?  Or hiring someone to find the other party and pursue legal action?  

A long term rental property could be quite the asset.  There's an opportunity cost in not using it.  Maybe find a real estate expert, the value of the property may go up whether it's used or not.  Any expense could be recouped and then some later.

At this point, I think it costs more to hire an attorney and file a lawsuit.    Minimum $3500 retainer and that's only the beginning.    I don't know what the bills are but they aren't anywhere near that yet.    She can't rent the property without the other owner permission so that is not possible at present and of course with real estate or any other property the value can go down as well.   Thx for your input.

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4 hours ago, Bolshevik said:

Don't forget to offer each party a glass of water . . . to calm nerves . . . 

It doesn't seem like much of a party if all you have to offer is a glass of water.

Edited by waysider
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5 hours ago, T-Bone said:

it's going to mean additional costs, but she could employ the services of a skip tracer - that is a person whose job is to locate people who are missing or have defaulted on a debt. There are reputable skip tracers out there who are often employed by law enforcement, attorneys, IRS, and others who go about the business of finding someone using legitimate/legal means.

Not only a skip tracer, but attorneys in the jurisdiction in question may be aware of the use of public notices for situations such as this. Small newspapers can publish such notices which, over the course of a month or so (repeated a prescribed number of times) can be recognized (depending on the jurisdiction) in court as constructive notice. Certainly wouldn't cost $3,500. for that.

Edited by Rocky
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13 hours ago, Rocky said:

Not only a skip tracer, but attorneys in the jurisdiction in question may be aware of the use of public notices for situations such as this. Small newspapers can publish such notices which, over the course of a month or so (repeated a prescribed number of times) can be recognized (depending on the jurisdiction) in court as constructive notice. Certainly wouldn't cost $3,500. for that.

Thx, will mention constructive notice too...

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Move in herself!  (Rent out any other property she has been living in.)

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4 hours ago, Twinky said:

Move in herself!  (Rent out any other property she has been living in.)

That could bring her "friend" out from the shadows. Duh... great idea, Twinky. You must be a lawyer or something. :wink2:

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On 6/28/2022 at 11:51 AM, T-Bone said:

it's going to mean additional costs, but she could employ the services of a skip tracer - that is a person whose job is to locate people who are missing or have defaulted on a debt. There are reputable skip tracers out there who are often employed by law enforcement, attorneys, IRS, and others who go about the business of finding someone using legitimate/legal means.

She was informed from an attorney that instead of a 'skip tracer' she'd want to hire a private investigator to track down the whereabouts.   She said the investigator would do what the skip tracer does, but she's checking out skip tracers in general.   Either way its not a very pleasant position to be in having to spend that money.

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On 6/28/2022 at 5:45 PM, Rocky said:

Not only a skip tracer, but attorneys in the jurisdiction in question may be aware of the use of public notices for situations such as this. Small newspapers can publish such notices which, over the course of a month or so (repeated a prescribed number of times) can be recognized (depending on the jurisdiction) in court as constructive notice. Certainly wouldn't cost $3,500. for that.

She asked the atty about 'constructive notice' and was informed that would not work in this case.

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3 hours ago, oldiesman said:

She was informed from an attorney that instead of a 'skip tracer' she'd want to hire a private investigator to track down the whereabouts.   She said the investigator would do what the skip tracer does, but she's checking out skip tracers in general.   Either way its not a very pleasant position to be in having to spend that money.

 

I guess I should have elaborated… when I suggested a reputable skip tracer who goes about the business of finding someone using legitimate/legal means – it goes without saying that they will be a private investigator…in most states – I know in Texas and New York for sure – private investigators must have training and go through certification to be licensed.

 
“Skip tracing” is a particularly unique skillset and probably some bureaucracies might require further training for a distinctive classification. It’s not unusual for a P.I. company to have staff with a variety of skillsets. One P.I. might be adept at surveillance and countersurveillance. Another might be good at background checks.

I was a security tech for one investment firm that employed such a service. The company’s executives not only did a really thorough job of checking out us employees before hiring – they used a P.I. company to do deep scrutiny of people who came into their personal lives at home – i.e., nannies, chefs, drivers, caretakers, etc. One of the responsibilities of being the firm's security techs meant we were often tasked to “supervise” a contractor like a Spectrum or AT&T tech who came in their home for a service call. No brag – just fact – there’s a lot of ways to keep an eye on your stuff – and if you have more stuff, it usually takes more money to keep more eyes on it :rolleyes:   …that’s why I mentioned specifically a skip tracer – a good one will keep an eye out for what you seek.
 

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15 minutes ago, T-Bone said:

 

I guess I should have elaborated… when I suggested a reputable skip tracer who goes about the business of finding someone using legitimate/legal means – it goes without saying that they will be a private investigator…in most states – I know in Texas and New York for sure – private investigators must have training and go through certification to be licensed.

 
“Skip tracing” is a particularly unique skillset and probably some bureaucracies might require further training for a distinctive classification. It’s not unusual for a P.I. company to have staff with a variety of skillsets. One P.I. might be adept at surveillance and countersurveillance. Another might be good at background checks.

I was a security tech for one investment firm that employed such a service. The company’s executives not only did a really thorough job of checking out us employees before hiring – they used a P.I. company to do deep scrutiny of people who came into their personal lives at home – i.e., nannies, chefs, drivers, caretakers, etc. One of the responsibilities of being the firm's security techs meant we were often tasked to “supervise” a contractor like a Spectrum or AT&T tech who came in their home for a service call. No brag – just fact – there’s a lot of ways to keep an eye on your stuff – and if you have more stuff, it usually takes more money to keep more eyes on it :rolleyes:   …that’s why I mentioned specifically a skip tracer – a good one will keep an eye out for what you seek.
 

Thx for that information.   I think its worth checking out... but the impression I get from her is she doesn't or cannot spend the extra money right now on the cost of it.

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