Sarah Larimer - May 8, 2016 - Washington Post
When the woman found the home for sale online, she told her boyfriend, Gregory Harris, that she liked it, according to court documents.
Harris, who had told the woman he was a millionaire, later told her that he would buy it.
Harris did take down the “for sale” signs from the property in Indiana, authorities think. But he never actually completed the sale of the home — he just made an offer.
Harris, 48, now faces burglary and theft charges, according to court records. A message left with his attorney was not immediately returned.
Harris’s girlfriend told authorities that the couple began dating in January, and he had made claims of wealth, according to a probable cause affidavit. He gave her a BMW SUV, she told police – a vehicle that authorities learned had been reported as stolen.
After Harris told the woman that he was buying the home, he sent her a text message in mid-April, saying “he had closed and she could start moving in,” the affidavit states.
“He then took pictures of himself in the home and sent them to her,” it continues.
The woman brought over some of her belongings and the couple was discussing the changed locks when police appeared on the property, according to the documents.
The asset manager of the property told investigators that Harris had made an offer on the home, but it was rejected, the probable cause affidavit notes. The $147,000 home, which is no longer on the market, was being sold through CastleRock REO, the New York-based company.In early April, a realtor visited the property to show it to a potential buyer, but discovered the lockbox was gone and the sale signs were missing, according to the affidavit. Another lockbox was installed, but a second realtor who came to the property a few days later encountered similar problems.
That realtor contacted the asset manager and told her “it appeared that someone had moved into the property, as he could see inside and noticed furniture in the living room,” the documents state.
When Harris and the asset manager exchanged text messages, he told her that he had taken down the yard signs and gotten rid of the lockboxes, she told investigators.
“Harris further stated that he was under the understanding that since he made an offer, that CastleRock had entered into a binding contract to sell him the property,” the affidavit states.
The the asset manager told him that the property was still for sale and “he was going about the purchase the wrong way,” the affidavit notes. But Harris still insisted it was a legal purchase and he was moving in – even sending a picture of his SUV parked in the driveway.
CastleRock REO representatives told IndyStar that although they have had to deal with squatters in the past, they have never encountered anything like the situation with Harris, who they said seemed to feel justified in his actions.
This story has been brought to you by the Emerald Chamber of Commerce Inc.
(Ph: 07 4982 3444)
No comments:
Post a Comment