Have you noticed increase in squatters on the news and on line?

P

perplexed

Member
It is sad when people can just move in an empty home that is up for sale etc and claim to have a lease.
Florida must be over run with squatters, the governor just signed a bill preventing them from staying in the home and the home owner from months of expensive legal battles and them living there for free etc.

Do you know anyone this has happened too?
 

It happened to my sister! Frannie went to spend 2 weeks with our other sister in another state and a group of people moved into her house while she was gone. In my state, squatters have many of the same rights as a tenant if any one of the squatters can show:

1) they have received mail addressed to them at the home's address

2) certain belongings of theirs are in the home; functional furniture such as beds and chairs, clothing, and grooming and hygiene items such as toothbrushes etc.

3) they show proof that they have paid toward either the utility bills or property taxes, such as a copy of a check to a utility company or tax board, or copy of a bank statement showing the transaction.

These people had these things and showed them to the police! They had somehow broken into Frannie's house without causing any damage, and in the 2 weeks she was gone they found a current utility bill, took it to a payment center, and paid part of it (#3). They received mail from a business (#1). They moved in two beds, 2 living-room chairs and a loveseat, some dishes, pots and pans, clothes, and toothbrushes and hairbrushes (#2).

Frannie got these people out in a brave way. She lived with them! Her boyfriend and four of their friends moved in and made those people's lives miserable. They helped themselves to any food the people cooked, constantly changed the TV channel, had loud arguements with each other, drank their beer, etc.etc.

It took two months to drive them out, but it would have taken years to get them legally removed, and that's only if they would have won a case against them.
 
Last edited:
No one I know has had that happen nor have I heard of that in the area.

But, I've had the same thought while watching these stories on the news. Has any of these owners ever bothered to have a vacation/vacant house check done by the local police while they were gone? I couldn't even tell you how many of these I'd taken over the phone when I was in dispatch.

All of our local police departments did these & still do no matter how long the owner is on vacation or the house is vacant for any reason. You give them basic information of how to contact you if needed, lights (location & if on timers & when), name of person feeding pets, name of person doing mowing/snow shoveling, name of person with keys if needed, house alarm (yes/no), description of cars allowed, etc.

I remember a couple of times when a deputy showed up to check on the house & found a few neighbor kids having a private party in the backyard. That problem was resolved by calling the parents & then contacting the owner to see if they wanted to file trespassing charges.
 
The more publicity this gets, the more scumbags who think, "Hey, we could do that!"

And the harder and harder it gets to oust them from a house, the more attractive it gets to try it.

There doesn't seem to be much in the way of penalties for getting caught doing it, either. Either the homeowner has to give money to the squatters to move out or has to go through the courts to evict them, which takes months....or sometimes years.
The squatters finally do get thrown out but there is seldom any legal penalties for them, so they just move on and squat somewhere else.

AND if the homeowner uses the wrong method to get them out, it's the homeowner who frequently gets in trouble.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top