Man Returns From 2-Day Vacation, Finds Family Living In His Home

In our post about the AirBNB “guest” who decided to make himself at home and squat in a desert condo after he had stayed for a month, we noted that at least the condo in question was a vacation home, not her regular home. No, that actually happened this week to a man in Miami. He returned to the house he was renting after a short vacation and found another family living there.

The squatters, it turns out, weren’t out to maliciously displace someone from his home. They claim that they had been misled by a scammy realtor (who may or may not have been an actual realtor.) The realtor collected $3,600 from them for rent and a deposit on a house that he had no authority to rent out.

The fake realtor apparently rented the house as “furnished,” and the new fake tenants are using all of the renter’s stuff.

“I can’t sell the house until we get them out of there,” the homeowner told CBS Miami.

How did the realtor target this house in particular? It’s not clear how they learned that it was temporarily vacant, but the house had recently been listed for a short sale. The current renter is a friend of the homeowner, who had been preparing to move since the house is now for sale.

Man Finds Family Living In His Miami Home [CBS Miami]

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.