Unreal but TRUE: Man squats in a home, gets sued by owner and still walks away with a $10,000 check
By bellecarter // 2024-02-20
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A video of a man telling about how he was able to hijack the system, live rent-free for months, get away from legal action, and still manage to get away with a big, fat $10,000 check has been circulating and going viral on social media. According to the video that the supposed "squatter" recorded and uploaded, he got to live for free in a house in Portland, Oregon when he looked for a vacant house to rent. He got the details of the home and researched on YouTube how to break in by destroying the locks on the house. Then, he downloaded and forged some documents and made it look like he had a lease agreement with the house owner. Next, "I called the utility companies and had the utilities put in my name" but refused to pay, the man bragged. It was at this point when the owner showed up and the man "politely explained" that this was his house now. He asked them to leave and this triggered them to call the police. The man had the nerve to show the cops his "fake" lease agreement and the utility bills that were named after him. Upon finding this out, law enforcement advised the owner to just sue the man because this is a civil matter. When the rightful homeowner filed a case, wanting to evict him, he contacted a tenant advocacy group and he got a lawyer 100 percent free and funded by taxpayers. "My out-of-pocket is still zero while the lawyer fought on my behalf for months and months, really driving the owner crazy and costing her tens of thousands of dollars. Finally, the owner decided it would be cheaper to just give me a chunk of cash to leave rather than continue paying the lawyer," he continued narrating in the video. So the owner writes him a $10,000 check. Then, the "squatter" moved out without even cleaning the place up. "That's a good thing because I do a lot of drugs and the house looks every bit of it," the man proudly said. Imagine, getting to live in a house for nine months without paying anything that could have actually cost him three grand a month. He also got incentivized with a huge amount of money when he did not have to pay his lawyers or anything. "I always thought that stealing was wrong but it turns out if you steal a house it's not even against the law here so this couldn't have worked out any better. Thanks, Portland," the man ended the narration. Commenters on different platforms doubt the legitimacy of the said video. One user posted on X: "I think he made this video to show you what's been going on and how easy it has been for some to do this. I don't think he actually did this. I would hope not at least." But true or not, they are saying: "Clearly sarcasm on what happens and what people get away with. It's a lesson to listen to!" Meanwhile, some are alarmed by this piece of news. "It's hard to read that in this country a homeowner has to pay a squatter to leave. I've heard of this happening in other states and it's sad," a user said.

Squatters can get away with it in Oregon

A squatter is a person or group of individuals who occupy vacant land and live there without permission from the legal owner. In some U.S. states, it's completely legal. Worse, squatters can gain ownership of a property through adverse possession. To be considered squatters, people must intend to live on the property and treat it as if it were their own. However, they aren't required to pay rent or comply with the conditions set in a rental agreement. It is somewhat similar to long-term trespassing, but the terms are different. A trespasser could face legal action for a criminal offense. Unless the property manager or owner states that they are not welcome in the unit, squatters' rights are defined by civil regulations. Squatters have some rights. However, if they want to rely on adverse possession to take ownership of a property, they must meet some requirements. Otherwise, their cases could turn into criminal matters since they will be prosecuted as trespassers. In Oregon, there are exceptions to legal repercussions for squatting. Squatters can avoid being prosecuted as criminal trespassers if they beautify an unoccupied or abandoned unit by doing landscaping work, cleaning and more. If one gains access to the property without the owner's permission, he could also avoid legal action for trespassing if there is a legitimate emergency involved. Also, Oregon allows squatters to make an adverse possession claim even if they share the unit with other squatters or tenants, if they meet conditions. (Related: SQUATTERS GALORE: Illegal migrants are now taking over homes of American host families: "How many are coming? We knew nothing!") Check out Deception.news to read more stories on people "exploiting" the system and deceiving people and institutions.

Sources for this article include:

Original.NewsBreak.com DoorLoop.com
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