{"id":410387,"date":"2026-07-24T04:43:22","date_gmt":"2026-07-24T04:43:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/410387\/"},"modified":"2026-07-24T04:43:22","modified_gmt":"2026-07-24T04:43:22","slug":"how-one-property-owner-fought-back-after-a-squatter-takeover","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/410387\/","title":{"rendered":"How one property owner fought back after a squatter takeover"},"content":{"rendered":"

SAN DIEGO \u2014 An Airbnb host is warning property owners to fight back after squatters took over a home on her ranch and demanded $30,000 to leave, prompting her to hire a company that specializes in removing squatters.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe whole situation just crushed me. I reached a point where I had no idea what to do and felt extremely helpless and beyond frustrated,\u201d said Grace Young in an interview on her property in unincorporated El Cajon.<\/p>\n

Young said the nightmare started in June after an Airbnb guest, who she says broke house rules by having several unapproved visitors, bringing dogs and violating the sound curfew, checked out after being booted from the online vacation rental platform.<\/p>\n

‘It’s a civil matter’<\/p>\n

The day after the guest left her home, Young said three squatters moved in and damaged her home during their takeover.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey manufactured some narrative that they had had the right to be in the home because an Airbnb guest had given them that permission, had rented to them,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\"Screenshot<\/p>\n

Amol Brown\/Team 10<\/p>\n

Grace Young told Team 10 Investigative Reporter Austin Grabish she hopes other homeowners will fight back when squatters move onto their property and can avoid having to do an eviction through civil court, which can take months or years.<\/p>\n

Young called the San Diego County Sheriff\u2019s Office for help and said the response she got floored her.<\/p>\n

\u201cA junior officer came over. I was on the speakerphone and said, \u2018OK, well, we\u2019re letting them go. It\u2019s a civil matter.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

‘We have established legal tenancy’<\/p>\n

After deputies left, Young said the squatters put up notices in the windows of Young\u2019s home titled Notice of Tenant Rights and Requirement for Lawful Entry and demanded $30,000 to leave.<\/p>\n

\u201cDear Grace Young, please be advised that as of our continuous occupancy of the property \u2026 since early April 2026, we have established legal tenancy under California law. Because our stay has exceeded 30 consecutive days, we are no longer considered transient guests or short-term lodgers. We are now legally classified as month-to-month tenants and are protected by California landlord-tenant laws,\u201d the notice said.<\/p>\n

\"Screenshot<\/p>\n

Amol Brown\/Team 10<\/p>\n

Squatter Squad founder Lando Thomas said sometimes he gets five calls a day from homeowners in Southern California who’ve been locked out by squatters.<\/p>\n

The letter went on to tell Young she couldn\u2019t legally force the squatters to vacate the premises or lock them out.<\/p>\n

\u201cA landlord must follow the formal, legal eviction process to remove a tenant, which requires proper written notice (typically a 30-day or 60-day notice),\u201d the notice said.<\/p>\n

‘We know our rights’<\/p>\n

Feeling like she had nowhere to turn while also losing rental income, Young then hired the Squatter Squad, which specializes in removing squatters.<\/p>\n

\u201cNinety percent of our squatters have the most entitled attitude and they were basically telling her, \u2018We know our rights,\u2019\u201d said Kimrey Kotchick, who runs the company with founder Lando Thomas.<\/p>\n

Kotchick said he believes the Airbnb guest who was kicked out of Young\u2019s home gave the code to the rental to the squatters who moved in.<\/p>\n

\"Screenshot<\/p>\n

Grace Young\/Submitted <\/p>\n

Grace Young’s surveillance camera captured deputies as they moved in with guns drawn to get the squatters out.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it was retaliation against Grace because he was mad at her for kicking him out.\u201d<\/p>\n

The professional squatter removers told Team 10 they get several calls a day from desperate homeowners in Southern California.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe’ve had other cases in San Diego where a senior had to leave his property for medical reasons. He’s in his 80s, he’s gonna be in the hospital for about a month and rehabilitation. Meanwhile, squatters swooped right into his home. His Porsche is missing. All of his belongings were being sold at a yard sale by the squatters.\u201d<\/p>\n

Being told \u201cit\u2019s a civil matter\u201d is what happens 95% of the time when homeowners call police, Thomas said.<\/p>\n

Tips for homeowners <\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you have law enforcement show up and you\u2019ve got the property owner and the unlawful occupant \/squatter going back and forth, law enforcement will say, \u2018I can\u2019t be the judge and jury. This has to go to civil court.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

He said property owners can protect themselves by keeping a notarized copy of their deed, installing solar-powered security cameras and never letting their homes appear vacant.<\/p>\n

\"Screenshot<\/p>\n

Amol Brown\/Team 10<\/p>\n

Grace Young’s ranch in unincorporated El Cajon is seen from above.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey will drive around when the weeds start to grow up and the lights are off. There’s telltale signs.\u201d<\/p>\n

After being hired by Young, the Squatter Squad, which works with a professional bounty hunter, put together a plan to get the trespassers out.<\/p>\n

Squatters have history of unlawful detainers <\/p>\n

They gathered notarized documents, court records and other evidence and had Young return to the sheriff\u2019s office to ask for help. This time it worked.<\/p>\n

Twenty days after they moved in, detectives arrested the two remaining squatters Kevin Barlow and Amanda Hopkins on charges of burglary related to utility theft. Court records reviewed by Team 10 show both have multiple detainer cases on their records. Neither returned requests for comment.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that Captain Navarro and his team did an excellent job. In less than a business day, they put a plan together, came up with a search warrant, and had feet on the ground out here. Ten or 11 officers.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Screenshot<\/p>\n

Amol Brown\/Team 10<\/p>\n

Squatter Squad co-founder Kimrey Kotchick works with a bounty hunter to arrest squatters with active warrants. His team conducts background checks on squatters and says they often have violent criminal records.<\/p>\n

Team 10 asked Airbnb to respond to Young\u2019s concerns and to tell us what it does to protect hosts from squatters and if there\u2019s a way for hosts to recoup costs for lost rent and damages.<\/p>\n

The company\u2019s spokesperson Ruthie Kongo responded by telling us when Young\u2019s property was occupied by the trespassers, it was not operating as an Airbnb reservation.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe squatters were in no way associated with Airbnb,\u201d she said in an email.<\/p>\n

Back at her ranch, Young said she\u2019s increased security and said she hopes other property owners can learn from her experience.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe’ve got to begin to switch it, turn the dial, to where every time a situation like this happens, it doesn’t just go, \u2018Civil court, it’s going to take you months and years, too bad for you,\u2019 and go on to the next.”<\/p>\n

Investigative Reporter Austin Grabish can be reached at austin.grabish@10news.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SAN DIEGO \u2014 An Airbnb host is warning property owners to fight back after squatters took over a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":410388,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[164370,24812,6568,164371,74,76,75,164372,164373,61601],"class_list":["post-410387","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-diego","tag-30-thousand-dollar-demand","tag-airbnb","tag-el-cajon","tag-grace-young","tag-san-diego","tag-san-diego-headlines","tag-san-diego-news","tag-squatter-rights","tag-squatter-squad","tag-squatters"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/410387","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=410387"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/410387\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/410388"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=410387"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=410387"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=410387"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}