^[1]I witnessed my first actual evicting of occupants today at this house at 4773 Sequoia in Oceanside.

It had been foreclosed in September, and a 60-day notice was served after the tenant turned down the cash-for-keys offer.  He didn’t leave after two months, and because he didn’t contest it in court, the case went directly to the sheriff’s office.

The tenant is an active-duty Marine, a big fan of UFC fighting, and had a big nasty pitbull – and I’ve seen my share.  I communicated this to the asset manager, hoping that the eviction would go quietly because the sheriff’s posse would be dispatched.

They emailed me the exact time, 10:40am, and I arrive a few minutes early thinking I’ll see 2-3 burly sheriffs looking for trouble.  I look through the garage window and see all of the tenant’s stuff in full view.  At about 10:45am, a squad car pulls up, and a little skinny guy with white hair about 60 years old gets out.  I start thinking that a major confrontation is about to erupt, and now I’m relying on a guy who looks like Barney Fife to save the day.  I hoped he still had his bullet in his front pocket!

^[2]

Myself, the locksmith, and Barney go to the front door, knock, and no one answers.

We let the locksmith go to work, and Barney and I go around to the back door - and it’s unlocked.  I step in, and Barney says “Hold on, let me go first”, and I leap out of the way, figuring he’s the one with the bullet.

Nobody was home, and the house was vacated, with the garage full of junk.  Thinking that the sheriff is in charge of evictions, I ask, although somewhat nervously, ”who is going to come and clean the place out?”

Barney turns to me with a big smile and says, “That’s your job!”

He went on to say that he has been traveling to Carlsbad, Encinitas, and Carmel Valley more often lately, and mentioned Torrey Highlands by name.

The locksmith said his company of 12 people used to have 550 properties assigned to them, but today they are down to half of that, around 275.  It’s gotten so bad that he has had to expand to Riverside County. 

He thought it must be due to a competitor cutting in on his business, but someone in his network recently told him that the banks have been buried and not listing any new properties.  He heard that we should see a major onslaught on REOs coming to market, starting in February.

I’ll be a little older then, but I’m ready!