Couple has squatters removed from California home

A family’s dream move from California to Tennessee quickly turned into a nightmare when strangers moved into the family’s former home in Fresno.

In June, Sang Her and Nou Yang and their four children moved across the country and put their California home up for sale, CBS47 reported.

But a family member in September sent Her and Yang a photo of a U-Haul in the driveway of the couple’s Fresno home. The “For Sale” sign had been removed and the locks reportedly had been changed.

The alleged tenants, when confronted by police, produced a month-to-month lease, explaining they had found the listing on Craigslist and paid thousands in cash to move in.

The police said there was nothing they could do, as it appeared to be a matter of one party’s word over the other.

“Just imagine being 2,000 miles away and hearing that your house that you raised your kids in, this is going on and law enforcement say they can’t do anything about it,” Her told CBS47.

However, after the television station discovered the owners’ signatures on the lease and deed didn’t match, police had the squatters removed from the home.

Still, the incident left its mark, with the couple spending hundreds of dollars to clean out the tenants’ possessions that were left behind (following a 2-week wait pursuant to California law).

In addition, Her said the kitchen had been damaged and was infested with roaches.

It’s not the first time a couple has been surprised recently about strangers moving into their home.

A couple in Maryland was surprised recently when the home they had purchased in the wake of its foreclosure had been occupied by squatters.

Unlike Her and Yang’s situation, however, that issue appears to not have been resolved, with police saying it was a civil matter.

— Ted Glanzer