Homeowner's nightmare as 'squatters' move in while he cares for sick wife
A frustrated man claims squatters broke into his vacant house and changed the locks while he was away caring for his sick wife.
Paul Callins reportedly returned from caring for his sick wife to find squatters had unlawfully occupied his vacant property located on Ashton Oak Circle, a neighbourhood of DeKalb County in east Atlanta, Georgia. He said he inherited the house from his late father, who passed away three years ago after battling cancer and had invested significant effort and money into renovating the property by himself, intending to rent it out to a government-subsidized tenant.
However, his plans were derailed when squatters apparently saw an online ad for the property and seized the opportunity to unlawfully occupy it, citing a fake lease. Mr Callins suspects that two men and a woman are now residing in his house without authorization.
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Two people were seen entering the property while TV crews were there (WSB-TV)He told Atlanta's WSB-TV: "Basically, these people came in Friday, broke into my house and had a U-Haul move all their stuff in. It’s frustrating. It’s very frustrating. I can’t even sleep."
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Mr Callins opened up about how he's faced nothing but obstacles to remove the alleged intruders from his home. He explained: !I guess they have done this before, because when I called the police, they said since they have a fake lease, that they can't do anything. That it's a civil matter."
He believes he was targeted after posting a rental advert online, having planned to rent to a government-subsidised tenant when he lost the house. WSB-TV reported that two cars were parked in the driveway when crews tried to approach, but no occupants responded to attempts to communicate.
The home is located on Ashton Oak Circle, a neighbourhood of DeKalb County in east Atlanta, Georgia (Google Maps)For all the latest news, politics, sports, and showbiz from the USA, go to The Mirror US
Mr Callins has been advised to pursue legal recourse by filing an "Affidavit of Intruder" in court and seeking a judge's signature. Only then could he potentially appeal to the county sheriff’s office for assistance in evicting the intruders.
But he expects the process to be lengthy and arduous, saying: "I have to go through the court system, and I understand it could take 60 to 90 days." Meanwhile, hope may be on the horizon as the Georgia General Assembly is on the brink of passing legislation aimed at addressing such situations.
'These people came in, broke into my house and had a U-Haul move all their stuff in' said Callins (WSB-TV)The proposed law would empower police to arrest squatters for trespassing and elevate the use of a fake lease to a felony offence. Representative Devan Seabaugh, a Republican co-sponsoring the Georgia Squatter Reform Act (HB 1017), told Fox News: "We have to do something about this. We're dealing with criminals. …
"These are people that know exactly what they're doing, and they're stealing other people's most valuable capital, which is their home. I've heard from a lot of people. This has caused them to file bankruptcy.
"They're mentally harmed by it. It's a tough situation, and we have to do something. I don't know how it took us this long to get here … but no more free rides."
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