Posted on 08/17/2023 1:13:45 PM PDT by Red Badger
After squatters took over his mother's home, one handyman took the law into his own hands and uncovered a clever way to force them out.
United Handyman Association founder Flash Shelton became the squatter himself.
"I dissected the laws over a weekend. I basically figured out that until there's civil action, the squatters didn't have any rights. So if I could switch places with them, become the squatter myself, I would assume those squatter rights," Shelton said Thursday on "Varney & Co."
After his father died, the family was trying to sell the home but learned squatters had taken over the residence. Squatters are individuals who do not own or rent a property but live there anyway.
Upon calling law enforcement, Shelton learned there was little police could do.
"I called local law enforcement, and as soon as they saw that there was furniture in the house, they said that I had a squatter situation and they had basically no jurisdiction and they couldn't do anything," he said.
Shelton then decided to he could use squatters rights to take back his home. As a precaution, he also had his mother write and notarize a lease.
"I packed up my jeep, drove up there and paced out the joint around 4 a.m. I waited. About 8:00, 8:30 in the morning, three cars pulled out of the driveway and I made entrance to the house. I put up cameras, waited for them to come back," he said.
"They didn't have a lease, so that never came into play. But when they came back, I just laid it out for them, told them that it was all locked up, cameras, and the only way they would get back in the house is if they broke in on camera, and I would prosecute. I told them they had a day to get their stuff out or the furniture was not theirs anymore."
In many cities across the U.S., squatting is becoming a worse problem often due to progressive policies favoring squatters and tenants over landlords.
According to Madison Ventures+ managing director Mitch Roschelle, real estate markets in cities like New York City, Philadelphia and Los Angeles could face an exacerbated squatter problem.
In New York, squatters are granted rights after just 30 days, which makes it harder to evict. It’s a similar story in Los Angeles, where landlords are often forced to pay just to get rid of tenants who fail to pay. And in Philadelphia, even after a court orders a person out of a home, sheriffs might show up to evict, but end up leaving rather than cause a confrontation.
"The laws are written to protect the tenant, not the landlord," Roschelle told Fox News Digital in June. "The local laws that protect tenants at the expense of landlords have fueled this phenomenon because we've basically said forever it's the landlord's fault, not the tenant's fault if the tenant can't pay rent."
He further warned landlords: "The law is not on your side."
Tell that to a Florida army major who was out of the country and squatters got her home
This is one of the reasons we have cameras all over our house. When we go out of town, sometimes just for the day, but sometimes overnight, I feel like we are at least somewhat protected, though not completely. We do have a pet sitter come while we’re gone for longer than overnight. Hopefully between the good neighbors we have, the pet sitter, and the cameras, we won’t be taken advantage of by squatters, but you never know. In today’s changing world, it seems like the criminals get all the legal breaks.
“democrat party law is not on our side.”
May I disagree?
I would posit that neither the Democrat nor the Republican party is on the side of the people, especially the WMA & WFA citizens. Only the parties and themselves,
In New York, squatters are granted rights after just 30 days.
Democrats looking out for the little guy again huh.
We had rental houses in three states while we lived overseas for 25 years. In the developing part of the world you never left a property empty and unoccupied. Squatters would take over. And the legal systems just didn’t work. Living in the states now we always have a house sitter. Usually a friend or relative who needs some temporary housing.
Florida has NYS laws...
The Demonicrat Party is the Treason Party.
They aren’t always abandoned. Squatters watch and wait (especially rental properties) to see if anyone moves out then they swoop and takeover.
When a friend of mine leaves town for a period I house sit or go over daily.
If I ever found someone in the house illegally they will be removed at gun point or shot.
I’ll be applauded by police.
“Upon calling law enforcement, Shelton learned there was little police could do.”
I’ll bet if he gave those squatters a butt-load of bird shot, the cops would be there to ‘do something.’
Oh, not to the SQUATTERS - to HIM! Grrrr!
Fair enough! The stipulation should be that they then could also not do anything when you take the dead bodies to the local dump.
Marxist Dems are doing this to warm up Americans to Marxist laws for the gradual Government takeover.
There is no revenue in it for them, so they don't give a damn. If there was a way for them to make some money out of the deal, they'd be right on it.
Cops are useless wastes of taxpayer money.
Why have none of the squatter’s taken over Sniffer’s houses?
If Possession is 90 percent of the Law, and if the greatest and most valuable thing you own is your home, just how is it not illegal for squatters to enter and dwell in your home?
Why are all these companies trying to scare us with title-theft scenarios, which should, in a low abiding world, be unworkable crimes.
The answer is that the communist democrats are trying to establish precedents for placing illegals in decent peoples' homes against their will.
Or worse, for seizing their homes for proles and other commies to occupy free of charge.
The time to fight and establish laws against this is NOW.
You are disagreeing with an assumption. Just because I wrote one thing about democrats does not imply that I would not write the exact same thing about republicans.
Red Badger, you have good stories about squatters. The solution is to put ring cameras all around inside and outside the house. Talk to the local sheriff about the cameras. And either show up or have the sheriff show up when people are tripping the cameras.
He had a good plan. I would have added a couple of Dobermans to the mix.
Told my wife it that happens to our 2nd home. I call the termite guys and have the house tented.
Cutting hardened lumber with a dull compound blade?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.