Squatter crisis hits Atlanta as property owners see homes morph into drug and prostitution dens
ATLANTA - Squatters are wreaking havoc on Atlanta-area communities, turning properties into dens for drugs and prostitution while inflicting thousands of dollars in damages.
"The last incident that I had, there was a squatter there who totally destroyed the place," Kesha Chedeaux, a real estate agent and one of the squatters' victims, told Fox News' Lawrence Jones Thursday.
"One has went to jail. They sold the appliances from the property and received money for them. Selling appliances, [there's] feces everywhere, [they're] sleeping in the beds because these properties are staged on the market."
Jones traveled to the Peach State to speak to people on both sides of the crisis, including knocking on the door of one alleged squatter who claimed her family was the victim of a Craigslist scam.
"My son – he's in jail. He was paying these people every month. The police have already been out here. They’re going to send me a court date for me to come to court," the 63-year-old inhabitant claimed.
MORE: Georgia state lawmaker says laws unfairly favor home squatters
"I paid last month, but they [the police] told me don't pay this month," she said, claiming the family had been making payments for nine months to the Craigslist contact.
"They showed us the house, gave us the keys and everything…" she continued. "I'm getting out of here soon."
"First and foremost, it's dangerous. People that are doing that ultimately have no fear because they're taking possession of your property without your consent…" she said.
"They've actually broken into the property, putting these ads on Craigslist, and then they're taking people's money for deposit and rent, and then they don't get access to the property. So that's another thing of them getting scammed."
Cracking down on squatters in South Fulton
Authorities are cracking down on squatters in the city of South Fulton. Officials say, since the pandemic, there's been an exponential increase in the number of people who unlawfully stay in a building they don't own or lease. Now the Fulton County Sherriff's Office has partnered with South Fulton Police, by deputizing them, so they can perform ejections, not evictions. And yes, there is a difference.
Another Georgia property owner told Jones the squatters on her property refused to leave when asked.
"They acted like I was doing something wrong. There was prostitution. There was drug selling, drug usage, everything. This went on for months. They broke in through the walls, through the doors, through the windows," the victim told Jones.
The squatters took the copper from the home's HVAC system and pulled the furnace out of the attic.
"When they pulled it out, the framing was damaged. So it cost me $13,000 to reframe this hallway," she said.
In total, she estimated the ordeal forced her to shell out approximately $30,000 for damage repairs.
The squatters also cut the wires in the home, damaged the siding and left a gaping hole in the wall. The owner was forced to install a lock system on the house's doors and windows to prevent people from invading again, but said that decision poses another problem.
"It also hurts me because it deters buyers. They want to know, ‘Why do you have to have these on the windows?’" she said.
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