Homeowners getting eviction notices after little-known legal document filed in 2024
By Matt Flener
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INDEPENDENCE, Missouri (KMBC) — An Independence man is speaking up to protect his home after getting an eviction notice taped to his front door earlier this month.
Luke, who requested to be identified by his first name to protect his privacy, has owned his home for more than 10 years near a busy road in Independence, Missouri.
He believes he is being bullied by a scammer, squatter or real estate investor trying to scare him out of ownership of his property.
“This is my house,” he said. “This is my little peace.”
Luke contacted KMBC 9 Investigates after not getting answers from police, the sheriff’s office or the recorder of deeds about the recent eviction notice.
“Everybody I’ve talked to said, ‘Wow, I’m sorry I don’t know what to tell you,'” he said.
Luke did more research. He found nearly two years ago, a company out of Wyoming, Wyo Holdings VII LLC, filed a legal document called an Affidavit of Equitable Interest against his home and more than 100 other properties around the Kansas City metropolitan area. That company has since dissolved, according to research done by KMBC 9 Investigates.
James Simpson got an eviction notice, too.
But he owns a home just east of an abandoned property on the list. It was a mistaken eviction notice taped to his door.
“A lot of scams go on like this all the time,” Simpson said. Simpson said he would fully defend his property if anyone ever came to evict him.
KMBC 9 Investigates found the eviction notices both Luke and James received are tied to an individual named August Schroeder, based on an email address on the document.
“We are processing evictions for squatters/holdover tenants from previous owner after tax auctions last year,” Schroeder told KMBC 9 Investigates after an email to that address.
However, Schroeder has not responded to a request asking for proof of any ownership in the homes.
Attorney Gracie Norman of Cook Ellis Law successfully won a judgment against Wyo Holdings VII LLC and another entity last year on behalf of a client with properties on the same list attached to the affidavit of equitable interest.
She and court officials tried to track down the owner of the company through official service of the lawsuit. But, they could find no records or addresses and ultimately won a default judgment from the court.
Norman said it is always a good idea to get a title report or check with your recorder of deeds for any documents filed against your property.
“If you’re not getting the notice to vacate, and you’re not trying to sell your house, this could be on your land records for a long time,” she said.
“These homeowners do have legal recourse to try to get this off of their property records.”
KMBC 9 Investigates connected Luke with Norman to talk about their next steps.
He just wants to protect the home he loves.
“I want to keep it, I really do,” he said.
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