squatting

17 Stories

Squatters Killed Woman, Stuffed Her in Closet: NYC Cops

Suspects in Nadia Vitels' death arrested Friday in Pennsylvania

(Newser) - A woman visiting the vacant apartment of her deceased mother was assaulted and killed by two people squatting inside, say Manhattan police, who searched for the suspects for a week before arrests were announced Friday. Nadia Vitels' body, stuffed in a duffel bag, was discovered March 14 by her son,...

YouTuber Ordered to Yank 'Dream' Cabin on Public Land

Matty Clarke of 'Skote outdoors' is squatting in the Yukon, government says

(Newser) - A YouTuber who told viewers that they, like him, could build their "dream" cabin in the Yukon wilderness forgot to mention that he did so illegally in the eyes of the territorial government. In 2020, Matty Clarke ventured to Ensley Creek, 15 miles up the Yukon River from Dawson...

Moms Booted From Home That Wasn't Theirs Get Good News

Nonprofit land trust to buy Oakland residence from developer, let homeless evicted families back in

(Newser) - The homeless moms who were booted from a vacant residence in Oakland, Calif., will soon be able to call it home again. The members of activist group Moms 4 Housing had been served an eviction notice by Wedgewood Inc., a developer that specializes in flipping houses, and last week, sheriff'...

Homeless Moms Evicted From Vacant Home in 'Act of War'

'This isn't over'

(Newser) - Four people were arrested Tuesday when Alameda County Sheriff's deputies showed up to evict a group of homeless mothers who'd taken up residence in a vacant home in Oakland, Calif. NBC News and the Mercury News report that members of Moms 4 Housing, an activist group trying to...

Story of the 'Worst Roommate Ever' Is a Must-Read
Story of the 'Worst Roommate
Ever' Is a Must-Read
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Feb 25, 2018 4:51 PM CST

Story of the 'Worst Roommate Ever' Is a Must-Read

Jamison Bachman terrorized a dozen roommates: longform

(Newser) - New York magazine calls it "the worst roommate story you'll ever read"—and that's no exaggeration, as many readers of the viral piece have pointed out on Twitter . William Brennan's harrowing longform on Jamison Bachman starts with the story of Alex Miller, a Philadelphia woman...

Squatters Turn $19M London Home Into Homeless Shelter

The nearly 200-year-old home was bought by a Russian oligarch in 2014

(Newser) - A group of squatters has seized an empty property on one of Britain's "most expensive and exclusive streets" and turned it into a homeless shelter, the Telegraph reports. According to the Guardian , the five-story, $19 million home was purchased by a Russian oligarch in 2014 but is believed...

Squatter Allegedly Helps Himself to Mansion's Art

Cops say he stole and sold more than $300K worth of paintings

(Newser) - A 39-year-old man was arrested Sunday for allegedly squatting in the guest house of a historic San Francisco mansion while stealing and selling nearly a dozen paintings off its walls. Police were called to the vacant mansion—put on the market in 2012 for $25 million—for reports of a...

Elderly Woman Discovers Guy Living in Her Home

Police say her caretaker's boyfriend had secretly moved in on second floor

(Newser) - A woman in her 80s who lives alone in Pennsylvania wasn't actually living alone, it turns out. Police in Bedford say that a 49-year-old man had secretly moved in and was living on her second floor for several weeks, reports WJAC-TV and the Bedford County Free Press . His rent-free...

Girlfriend Holed Up in Thomas Kinkade House

She claims painter willed it to her; widow says she's squatting

(Newser) - Thomas Kinkade's girlfriend is still living in his $7 million Monte Sereno mansion, blissfully ignoring demands from Kinkade's estranged wife for $12,500 a month in rent, the San Jose Mercury News reports. Amy Pinto says she and Kinkade were engaged when he died, and she has two...

'Squatter' Who Claimed McMansion Gets the Boot
'Squatter' Who Claimed McMansion Gets the Boot
in case you missed it
Feb 11, 2012 10:55 AM CST

'Squatter' Who Claimed McMansion Gets the Boot

Texan's 'adverse possession' argument rejected

(Newser) - The Texas man who claimed the law of "adverse possession" allowed him to get an abandoned $340,000 home by paying $16 to file a claim is now looking for somewhere else to live. A judge decided that the current lien holder, Bank of America, had the right to...

Venezuela Torn in Two After Chavez Urges Squatting

Some claim 'squatters' are actually gangs

(Newser) - Venezuela’s squatters have a friend in Hugo Chavez. Chavez has long encouraged poor Venezuelans to take over unused buildings and farms, but in January he made it official, issuing a decree authorizing those made homeless by floods to take over buildings and land. The results: a country polarized between...

Squatters Give Tour of Gadhafi's London Home

Posh $17M home belongs to Libyan people, they say

(Newser) - An opulent London home belonging to one of Moammar Gadhafi's sons was taken over by squatters last week who have vowed to stay put until the dictator is ousted. This week, Laurie Penny gets a tour. The activists, who have links to Libyan rebels, have opened up Seif al Islam...

Calif. Lawyer: Break Back Into Your Foreclosed Homes

Radical attorney helps clients squat in bank-owned properties

(Newser) - One California attorney isn't afraid of getting on the wrong side of the law to help clients who have been evicted from their homes. Michael T. Pines of Pines & Associates advises clients to break into their foreclosed homes and live there illegally. He has personally broken into at...

Wells Fargo Fires Exec Who Squatted at Malibu Pad

Senior VP Cheronda Guyton used house that belonged to Madoff victims

(Newser) - Wells Fargo said today it has fired the executive who turned a seized California beachfront mansion into a personal playground, the Los Angeles Times reports. Neighbors say they saw Cheronda Guyton staying in the $12 million Malibu Colony property, which had been turned over to the bank by a couple...

Squatters Find Refuge in Foreclosed Homes

Activists move homeless families into bank-owned properties

(Newser) - Advocacy groups around the country frustrated by the lack of affordable housing and the surplus of empty properties are moving homeless families into foreclosed houses, reports the New York Times reports. Groups like Miami's Take Back the Land screen "tenants" for mental illness and drug problems and require them...

UK Squatters Wait Out Recession in Mansions

(Newser) - In the middle of one of London’s ritziest neighborhoods, a dozen young artists are lounging in the scantly lit living room of a $33 million mansion, eating curry made from ingredients found in the trash. The current recession has reignited England’s passion for squatting, the Washington Post reports....

Stockholm Apartment for Sale, Stepdad Included

(Newser) - A beautiful apartment for sale in Stockholm comes complete with a balcony that overlooks one of the city's trendiest districts—and the current owner's ornery stepfather. The man is defying a court order by refusing to move out, but that's not stopping his stepdaughter from selling the residence, reports The ...

17 Stories