A Texas woman named Terri Boyette was in Florida caring for her sick mother when a friend from home called to let her know that squatters had taken over her home, located in the Dallas area. The squatters then, as police did nothing to help stop their criminality, turned her home into a “drug den” and sold her possessions at a yard sale.
According to the New York Post, Boyette had hired workers to renovate her Houston home and, after she left to care for her ailing mother, a painter from the renovation project broke into it. That painter trashed the property and left drug paraphernalia all over it, leaving everything from crack pipes in the oven to drug needles in a drawer.
Just as bad as the general trashing of the property, the painter who squatted in the tome took Boyette’s possessions and either sold in a lawn sale or damaged them, often beyond repair. Her bed, for example, was left in the backyard of her property, a bike and scooter were left sitting her her shower, and refuse like trash and dirty dishes were left scattered across the property. Commenting on that destruction and selling off of her property, Boyette said, “All my stuff has been sold through the yard sale and online.” She added, “Apparently he was letting people rent from him.”
And the squatting painter was able to wreck her house and sell off her goods without interference from law enforcement, according to Boyette. Speaking to the NYP about her ordeal, she said it took six months for the property to be cleared out and, during that shockingly long time period, the police told her they couldn’t do anything to help because the squatter had been there for more than ten days, meaning she would need to follow the full eviction process.
Commenting on that long, painful, and expensive ordeal, she said, “We had to send the thirty day notice, so he gets the thirty day notice that he’s going to be removed. And he got another thirty day notice that had to expire.”
Continuing, Boyette added, “After I sent those, I got a court date in December and then when I went before the judge, [the squatter] didn’t show up of course, so she granted the eviction.” But then the judge let the squatter stay for Christmas, Boyette claimed: “She extended the appeal to January because she didn’t want anyone to be homeless over the holidays, and I’m like — I’m homeless over the holidays.”
Then, after months of effort, the squatter was served with an eviction notice, but not formally evicted until March 20. Since then, the squatter has attempted to come back to the house, Boyette claimed, “He has tried to come back,” she said.
Watch Ms. Boyette discuss the squatter saga here:
Amidst the problem with squatting across America, Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida took a hammer to squatter rights, saying, “We are putting an end to the squatters scam in Florida.” Continuing, he said, “While other states are siding with the squatters, we are protecting property owners and punishing criminals looking to game the system.”
Watch Gov. DeSantis here:
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