Bad story but this happened to a friend of mine. He was overseas on assignment for 6 months. But he was paying his bills on time and also had a friend who had keys to the house who would check on things. This absolutely happened to him and the squatter (there were 3 people) convinced the cops that my friend had leased his house to him before going overseas. My friend couldn't do anything about it until he returned and went in person to court. There was LOTS of damage to his house.

You all are confusing the 30 days. If someone comes into your house, they will lie and say they've been there for weeks/month. And in the moment it's hard to prove your word against theirs. They fake leases, rental agreements and bills. If you call the cops, it will EASILY be 30 days before the cops resolve it and by that time they're a tenant and you need to go through the courts.

If you live in one house and don't go on month long vacations, you don't have anything to worry about.

If you are rich and have multiple houses you are maintaining, then you might be a target for squatters.

Anonymous wrote:"Go out to dinner, come home to a person/people in your home with faked leases."

Where are you getting your information?

+1

OP, there are several services one can hire to evict squatters. Slow day?

Somebody coming in when I’m out for dinner makes no sense. If I come into my house and there’s a stranger, I’m emptying my pistol’s magazine on them and asking questions later. I’ll just tell the cop I felt threatened for my life and claim self defense.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it takes 30+ days for someone to establish residence. I’d hope one would know if someone has been in their house for over 39 days.

+1 It's not "go out to dinner, and then someone squats in your home". That would immediately be a B&E since they would not be able to show a valid utility bill in that time, nor would they be able to get rid of all your stuff in that amount of time.

But, yes, 30 days, that's concerning.

We are planning to spend a lot of time traveling when the kids are out of the house. I told DH that squatting is a big concern. We will have cameras in the house, and hopefully, neighbors who will keep an eye out. Or, maybe get a house alarm with a company.

It works in blue states with ridiculous laws. It does not work in red states and would be down right dangerous in stand your ground states or strong castle law states.

People are not breaking into your house when you go out to dinner.

If a network of people discover you will be out of time for an extended period, particularly if you don't have an alarm system, you are an appealing target. It's no different from burglaries that have taken place since forever.

Another opportunity is when elderly people pass away. A savvy caregiver has an opportunity to squat in that situation, especially if heirs are not on top of the estate.

If you own a vacation home, you have the dollars to get an alarm system, perhaps not the sense.

It’s an increasing problem. Housing has gotten very expensive relative to wages, plus you have idiots on TikTok telling people about squatter’s rights and encouraging them to illegally occupy homes.

https://nypost.com/2024/03/04/us-news/why-cant-squatters-like-brett-flores-get-evicted-and-how-did-it-get-to-this-point/amp/

It’s very f’ed up. In this case in NY, the homeowner ended up arrested.

https://abc7ny.com/amp/squatters-standoff-queens-new-york-city/14540298/

"Go out to dinner, come home to a person/people in your home with faked leases."

Where are you getting your information?

For as long as there have been cabins in the woods, owners have had this on their minds, as an unlikely though possible occurrence. Difference is their plan would have been to enter with a shot gun and get them out of there.

Anonymous wrote:I think it takes 30+ days for someone to establish residence. I’d hope one would know if someone has been in their house for over 39 days.

Depends on the state. And they are faking leases.

Anonymous wrote:I think it takes 30+ days for someone to establish residence. I’d hope one would know if someone has been in their house for over 39 days.

+1 It's not "go out to dinner, and then someone squats in your home". That would immediately be a B&E since they would not be able to show a valid utility bill in that time, nor would they be able to get rid of all your stuff in that amount of time.

But, yes, 30 days, that's concerning.

We are planning to spend a lot of time traveling when the kids are out of the house. I told DH that squatting is a big concern. We will have cameras in the house, and hopefully, neighbors who will keep an eye out. Or, maybe get a house alarm with a company.

I think it takes 30+ days for someone to establish residence. I’d hope one would know if someone has been in their house for over 39 days.

Some people are even forming companies helping others to squat. Go out to dinner, come home to a person/people in your home with faked leases. Vacation home? Ditto. In some states, can take up to a year to get them out. Seattle is having a real issue with this right now, as is New York and Massachusetts. One of your best protection from this arduous eviction process is being able to prove when someone entered your home. Outside cameras are good. Outside cameras hooked to monitored security companies better, and if they give you a signal via an app that your home was entered at the same time, better still. There are also companies forming that help you evict these squatters using the same methods they used to get in. Interesting concept!

As someone who owns a vacation home in another state, this has always been a concern. It's even more so now.