COLLEGE PARK, Ga. — A College Park woman is fighting to get squatters out of her home after police told her they couldn’t make them leave.
The homeowner, who wanted to remain anonymous, said she brought her new renters to the property on Monday night, only to find that someone else was inside.
“The two people in there were a man and a woman and they started yelling ‘get out of my house, get out of my house’ basically as if they were supposed to be in there,” she said.
The woman said the people inside claimed they had a lease that they showed to responding College Park police officers. The homeowner said she had never seen the lease or met the individuals. She reported the screens on multiple windows of the house were removed and the locks were changed.
“He’s a professional scammer. You could tell he’s done it before,” she added.
She said police told her because of an uptick in rental scams, she would need to go through the Fulton County courts to file an eviction notice to get them out. The homeowner has spent hundreds of dollars to remove the intruders.
11Alive went out to the home to check if anyone was still inside. After a few minutes of knocking and no answer, the garage door opened, and a man placed a “No Trespassing” sign in the window.
According to a neighbor, people moved into the house over the weekend but haven't been seen since.
“I was scared, and my pistol is laying out on the foot of my bed right now,” she added.
As the homeowner continues to fight to get the people out of her home, she said something needs to change so that no one else goes through this.
“I’m feeling disgusted. It’s just really sickening that someone can do this and take my house up from under my nose,” she said.