A squatter-inhabited property can draw safety concerns from neighbors with the destruction and criminal activity that often takes place
'Squatter Hunter' discusses the ongoing squatting issue in America — and proposes law changes
Flash Shelton, founder of Squatter Hunters based in California, told Fox News Digital his solution for helping to solve the issue of individuals squatting in other people's homes.
A squatter living on another person's property can cost homeowners thousands in maintenance costs, court fees and other unwanted expenses, but the homeowner is not the only one affected by the unlawful resident.
Stories of squatters are told in states across the country, from homeowners themselves and from neighbors impacted, sharing how the unlawful residents have put a burden on the community.
In many cases, this is due to the destruction of property, which is often noticed by neighbors, bringing about concern.
Squatters impact more than just homeowners; they can also interfere with neighbors due to destruction left and safety concerns. (iStock)
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This was the case with a house in Murryhill, Texas, which squatters lived in for one to two years prior to when George Huntoon, a Texas real estate agent, arrived at the property to aid in their removal in January 2023.
Huntoon previously declared the house to Fox News Digital as "not even habitable."
The house was full of rotten food, broken plumbing, walls covered in graffiti and junk filling the rooms.
Due to the mess, neighbors started to complain.
"The city was trying to come down hard on the owner, because they were blaming her for all these people and the mess," Huntoon said. "The neighbors had been complaining, so the city was coming out red tagging her house."
HIRE THIS TYPE OF LAWYER AND REMOVE SQUATTERS FROM YOUR PROPERTY MORE EFFECTIVELY
Another factor that can impact neighbors is disputes that happen at the home, and police being called frequently for issues happening on the property, making a neighborhood feel unsafe. This was another issue apparent with the house in Murryhill, Texas.
The destruction left in squatters' wake often brings about complaints from neighbors. (George Huntoon)
"Criminal activity was off the charts, and the cops would come regularly, probably once a week," Huntoon told Fox News Digital.
In Dowagiac, Michigan, many residents of a neighborhood involving a squatter had safety concerns about the unlawful residents living in their community for over three years before their removal.
This situation came to be after a member of the community allowed a man and his friends to live in her backyard in beat-up campers.
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"When he moved in, he would just start bringing in trash, old washers, dryers," Demarko Smith, a Dowagiac resident, previously told Fox News Digital." We hang out in our backyard. We have a movie theater and a bar, and there was just always random people back there."
After two years of this, the homeowner passed away, and the squatters completely took over the home. The activity in the house led neighbors to change their daily routines.
"We’ve got 14 cameras around our property," Smith said. "They did drugs over there, I already know that. Some days, we couldn’t go outside because it smelled like chemicals through the wood burner. The fire department went eight times. They caught the shed on fire in the backyard."
"My wife and my daughter did not feel safe here – when I was gone, they felt terrified," Smith said.
Squatter situations can negatively impact communities, but neighbors can also help one another in these types of cases.
Get to know your neighbors and look out for one another to help catch suspicious behavior early. (iStock)
"In a lot of neighborhoods these days, and I see it as a relator, people don't know each other, you don't know your neighbors, everyone's so busy," Huntoon said. "We're all just busy and no one talks to anyone anymore."
Instead of acting as strangers, befriend neighbors who can be your eyes and ears when you aren't around yourself.
It is very important to keep this in mind with homes on the market with no one living inside.
"For homeowners, I would say my best tip would be if you are going to go ahead and move out of state and your home is going to be sold after you've left or if you are a distant relative, and you have a family member's home that is tied up in probate, have someone keep a regular close watch on the property," Courtney Hartsfield, a realtor from the Tyler Hughes Realty Group with Horizon Realty based in Madison, Alabama, previously told Fox News Digital, sharing that these types of properties tend to be "easy targets" for squatters.
Ashlyn Messier is a writer for Fox News Digital.
