Squatters ravage Florida home and warn that people will be blown up or ‘shocked’ if they enter: report
A woman taking care of her brother’s Florida home found it overrun with squatters who left piles of drug paraphernalia, trash and homemade signs threatening visitors, a report said.
Carrie Black-Phillips was tasked with taking care of the home in Milton in the Florida Pandhandle, but got more than she bargained for after she found her brother’s ex-girlfriend and more than a dozen others shacked up inside, according to the Pensacola News Journal.
Black-Phillips even found herself wearing a sidearm when she finally got inside her brother’s home, the News Journal said.
She found it littered with debris and drug paraphernalia, and the squatters had even posted an ominous “danger” sign outside the bedrooms to scare off visitors.
“If you try to open door and get blowen [sic] up or shocked your bad,” one said, with another including a postscript in magic marker: “Keep out if you don’t want to get hurt.”
“It’s been a nightmare trying to deal with all this,” Black-Phillips told the outlet. “It’s very disheartening.”
The nightmare started when Black-Phillips, who lives nearby in Alabama, was asked to take care of the home on Tom Sawyer Road in December after her brother, Adam Shawn Carroll, was sent to jail without bail on a felony assault case, the News Journal said.
But when she showed up on Jan. 1, she found there were 15 people living inside — and was met at the door by her brother’s ex, who said she lived there now and wouldn’t let Black-Phillips inside.
In an unfortunate twist, the ex is the alleged victim in her brother’s assault case.
Meanwhile, Black-Phillips found herself fighting to get the squatters out, an often tricky legal endeavor thanks to a curious loophole in the law known as “adverse occupation” — or squatter’s rights.
Most recently, the law made headlines after a former handyman claimed squatter’s rights and refused to leave a recently purchased $2 million house in Queens, NY, keeping the new owners locked out of their own home.
What you need to know about squatters in New York:
What are squatter’s rights in New York?
Squatters in New York state can claim a legal right to remain on a property without the owner’s permission after 10 years of living there. However, in New York City, a person only needs to be on the property for 30 days to claim squatter’s rights.
Why is it so hard to get rid of a squatter?
Squatters are allowed a wide range of rights once they have established legal occupancy, making it difficult to evict them.
How does someone become a squatter?
Some of the scenarios in which a person becomes a squatter include: a tenant refusing to pay rent, a relative of a former owner refusing to leave the property or even a stranger who entered the property and never left.
According to Manhattan-based law firm Nadel & Ciarlo, squatters must have a reasonable basis for claiming the property belongs to them and must treat the home as if they were an owner — such as doing yard work or making repairs.
How can a property owner get rid of a squatter?
A property owner must first send a 10-day eviction notice and then file a court complaint if the order is ignored. If approved by a judge, the owner can get a summons and have a sheriff evict the squatter.
Why does the law provide squatters with rights?
The law was designed to help prevent long-term tenants from getting evicted. New York City’s law was partially made in response to vacant and abandoned buildings that were becoming a blight on the city.
How can property owners protect themselves from squatters?
Owners should avoid keeping any properties vacant for an extended period of time. They should also make sure the building is secure, has adequate lighting and has surveillance cameras installed.
If a squatter does appear, owners should notify the police quickly before squatter’s rights are established.
Black-Phillips was eventually able to go to court to get the squatters out — with the sheriff’s office evicting six people and charging them with trespassing. She then hired workers to clean up the mess, according to the newspaper.
Lt. Blake Weekley of the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office said squatting has become a local concern.
“They look for a vacant structure that they can occupy unbeknownst to the owner,” Weekley told the News Journal. “We’re seeing it more than we used to in years gone by.”
Black-Phillips has also hired a lawyer and filed court papers giving the squatters five days to file claims to legal occupancy of the house, which they never did, fortunately for her.
But she also knows the saga may not be entirely over.
“They’ll be back,” she said.
