My question involves real estate located in the State of: North Carolina
My girlfriend and I have lived on 1 half of an acre lot split into two parcels. Both parcels are deeded the same. My girlfriend is the remainderman and her father and mother have a life estate and are the life tenants.
Her mother passed away about a year ago. Her 80 y/o father has let a 35 y/o drug addict move in. She used our driveway to make drug deals as it is more covert than theirs. We installed a gate to stop this illegal activity.
We received a letter from his lawyer stating that we must remove the gate from the property within 72 hours, or he will have us evicted from the lot we have paid taxes on for 14 years.
In the letter it states "The life tenent has the right to use the property as he sees fit during his lifetime, so long as he pays the ad valorem taxes and doe not let the property go to waste.
What does "Waste" mean??
He has OCD and is a hoarder. When we became engaged 10 years ( two years after he changed the deeds) ago I moved in. The lots had several out buildings full of scrap. Building materials, tools, machines, steel raw stock, and old appliances and lawn equipment.
Soon after his son got a job at the local recycle center. He started to hoard all manner of useless junk. Exercise equipment, partially filled and empty UNMARKED 55 gallon barrels, and various other useless junk.
ALL tools, machines, and scrap metal has been removed and sold to support his girlfriends habit. Now the lot is full of useless junk. We have had an estate clearing company that clears estates and uses the scrap metals, and collectables as profit tell us that it would cost more than 3 times more in labor and landfill fees than BOTH lots are worth.
We were told by his son that when he wanted to remove trees from the property to make room for more junk that he could not remove the trees as they would "Devalue" the property.
I have paid the taxes on our lot for ten years and his lot for 2, and both lots cannot be sold due to the large amount of trash on his property
So do I have a leg to stand on, or am I SOL????

