Squatters are destroying entire neighborhoods in Atlanta, and police are so slow to respond to evictions that some homeowners are willing to pay inconvenience fees to be evicted.
Brazen squatters have taken over one of the city’s 1,200 illegally occupied homes and even opened an illegal strip club. According to the National Rental Housing Council (NRHC) industry group..
“It can be scary to rent out your property in Atlanta,” said Matt Urbanski, who owns a local house cleaning company. told Bloomberg.
Mr. Urbanski’s company cleans homes for corporate landowners, and sometimes has to remove squatters’ property.
Recently, one of his employees was shot and killed while trying to remove an intruder from the premises.
According to Bloomberg, Simon Frost, CEO of large landowner Tiber Capital Group, said there have been incidents of squatters brandishing weapons and threatening neighbors. and the safety of other residents.
Evicting Atlanta’s squatters has been difficult, with court negotiations stalled and police resources stretched.
Meanwhile, online listings and virtual real estate agents have made it easier for squatters to identify vacant properties to invade.
In October, an Atlanta neighborhood was caught in the midst of a scandal in which squatters converted their homes into illegal strip clubs, held parties on weekends, and even kept live horses on the property. did.
The drama unfolded when four people, De’Anthony Maddox, Jeremy Wheat, Kelvin Hall and Tarasjay Forde, were located in the South Fulton area without permission. Little did the neighbors know that the 4,000-square-foot, five-bedroom, three-bathroom home would become a den of illegal activity.
According to local reports, the squatters ran secret strip clubs, held raucous parties, and even hosted car races on the streets, leaving the neighborhood in disrepair.
“They would get live horses. One day they had a live horse,” one neighbor said. He told Atlanta station WSB-TV TV2..
SWAT teams eventually cleared the home and recovered two stolen cars, stolen weapons and stolen credit cards from the premises, according to local reports.
One neighbor told the Post that he was afraid to even go on vacation because squatters move in as soon as they find out the house is vacant.
“Is this America yet?” We are the owners of our homes and can’t do anything about trespassers? ” said the neighbor in annoyance.
In another incident, Army officer Lt. Col. Dalia Daure found a convicted criminal crouching in his home.
When Ms. Dowle, an Army officer, returned to her property, she discovered that squatters had been living in her sprawling $500,000 home while she was away on active duty.
She previously told WSB-TV that when she returned home, she found a man named Vincent Simon living at her home.
Simon, a man convicted of gun, drug and theft charges, refused to leave his house.
When Dawle called police to report an unwanted man in her home, police initially told her that it was a “civil matter” and her hands were tied. Giving him eviction papers had no effect.
After using opaque laws to finally get police involved, police found guns and drugs in the home.
“I found out that this person moved into my house right after I finished the renovations, and it was very upsetting and upsetting,” Dore told FOX.
