A family who thought they were moving into their a dream home instead walked into the middle of a housing nightmare in the latest ‘squatter scam’ that is sweeping the country.
Homeowner Mike Haskell believed he was just hours away from finalizing the sale of a freshly renovated four-bedroom, two-bath property in the quiet suburb of Windsor Mill, just outside Baltimore.
Haskell had poured tens of thousands of dollars into the home refurbishing it with new fixtures, modern appliances, and even professional staging.
But what began as a routine real estate transaction suddenly turned into a bizarre and costly standoff with strangers who should never have even been there in the first place.
The day before closing, Haskell received a simple phone call from a prospective buyer that upended everything.
‘The buyer last night drove by and saw a moving truck in the driveway. They thought it was maybe being unstaged for advertising,’ Haskell told WJLA. ‘I said, «No, that was done way earlier. There should be nobody there.»‘
When Haskell raced to the home that he was selling, what he saw left him stunned: a U-Haul was parked in the driveway, the locks had changed, and the for-sale sign had suddenly been removed.
Inside, a man and woman together with their two small children looked to be have been living comfortably for at least a week and claimed they had a legal right to be there – despite Haskell owning the property.
Homeowner Mike Haskell believed he was just hours away from finalizing the sale of a freshly renovated four-bedroom property just outside Baltimore but found another family living there. The family claimed they had been living in the property for at least a week
Haskell knew something wasn’t right when he saw a U-Haul parked out in the driveway
The family hadn’t randomly broken into the home nor snuck into a property they believed to be abandoned.
According to the couple, they moved in after finding the property through an ad posted on social media offering access to so-called ‘last resort’ home for a one-time payment of just $7,500 in cash.
The pair said they met the poster of the advert outside the Windsor Mill property, handed over the money, and signed what appeared to be a lease – despite the fact that the person making the transaction had no legal ownership or control of the home.
The family moved in claiming they were completely unaware that their lease was in fact worthless.
‘I really did lose my money,’ the man told ABC7. ‘But… where do we get compensated at?’
The family ultimately acknowledged they were ‘unlawfully occupying’ the home and that their presence had jeopardized Haskell’s pending sale.
When Haskell called Baltimore County Police, he expected swift action but officers classified the situation a civil matter, despite there being clear signs of fraudulent entry.
According to the official report the case was treated not as a criminal offense, but as a landlord-tenant dispute.
The family say they didn’t break into the home nor sneak into a property they believed to be abandoned but had actually ‘paid’ and signed a lease
The family ended up asking for compensation to move out. Haskell paid then $3,000
Such bureaucratic bottlenecks are becoming increasingly common across the US with the scam appearing to play on rising housing insecurity and legal loopholes that are ripe for exploitation.
Civil courts are often the only recourse for homeowners facing unauthorized occupation, and the legal process to remove squatters can drag on for months or years, even for those those with fake or nonexistent leases.
‘It is currently more difficult to get squatters out than getting a delinquent tenant out,’ said attorney Bruce Ailion of Re/Max Town & Country to Realtor.com.
‘The key to protecting yourself from squatters is preventing them from entering in the first place,’ Ailion said, urging property owners to invest in cameras, high-grade locks, and regular surveillance.
What makes the case especially alarming is the organized nature of the scam.
According to Spotlight on Maryland, several houses across Baltimore County have been fraudulently listed by users promoting ‘last resort’ homes on social media platforms.
Victims who are often vulnerable families in desperate need of housing are asked to pay lump sums in cash in exchange for fraudulent documents and access to homes they do not legally control.
Sometimes adverts will appear on social media offering homes for unbelievably low prices
One ad posted on social media offered access to so-called ‘last resort’ or ‘squatter homes’ for a one-time payment of just $7,500 in cash
‘These are not isolated incidents. They know who [the scammer] is, and I’m not quite sure why an arrest has not been made,’ Haskell said.
Haskell claims the woman who showed the property to the couple is actively orchestrating similar scams across the county.
Despite her alleged involvement in multiple cases, she has not been charged.
‘I want to see law enforcement, prosecutors, and government officials hold these people accountable,’ Haskell said.
Desperate to salvage the sale of his home, Haskell ultimately agreed to a ‘cash for keys’ deal – a controversial tactic in which a property owner pays the unauthorized occupants to leave quietly.
He handed over $3,000 in cash to the couple, who then agreed to vacate and surrender the keys.
Eventually the family of ‘squatters’ were paid $3,000, packed their belongings back into the U-Haul and drove off
The family then packed their belongings back into the U-Haul and drove off.
At one point, the man had turned to Haskell to ask him for recompense.
‘It would be nice if I could get compensated something… like a hotel? Something? Money?’
David Metzger, a real estate attorney, advises sellers to proceed with caution.
‘As soon as you list a home for sale or lease, invest in cameras and security systems.’
But even those may not be enough. Once inside, squatters gain a legal foothold that makes eviction an uphill battle.
