Handyman Turns The Tables On Squatters Who Took Over His Mother's House

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Flash Shelton, a member of the United Handyman Association, decided to take action against suspected squatters who had taken over his mother's home in Northern California.

In a YouTube video, he explained his reasoning by saying, "If they can claim rights to someone else's property, why can't I? If they are the squatters, then by becoming a squatter myself, I should also have rights."

Shelton's video about his efforts to regain possession of the California property has accumulated over two million views. 

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Shelton explained that due to his father's passing, his mother could no longer live in the house alone, so they decided to rent it out. 

According to Shelton, a woman who claimed to be a prison guard expressed interest in renting the property but was unable to provide any financial or credit information, resulting in his refusal.

However, he later discovered that a significant amount of furniture and other items had been delivered to the home.

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"She said that it was delivered by accident and she was getting rid of it," Shelton said.

Instead, the handyman began receiving reports from real estate agents that the house was occupied by multiple people and filled with furniture.

Neighbors also reported seeing lights on at night. Shelton contacted the police, but like many Americans dealing with squatters, he received an unhelpful response.

"They basically said, ‘You know, I’m sorry, but we can't enter the house, and it looks like they're living there. So you need to go through the courts,'" Shelton recalled law enforcement telling him.

Homeowners throughout the country have become entangled in expensive legal disputes in attempts to evict squatters, with no apparent solution in sight.

"Even though you're at your house, and you're paying the mortgage … at some point, squatters feel like they have more rights than you, so they don't have the incentive to leave until a judge tells them to," he said. "And that could take months, six months, it could take years. I don't know. I didn't want to take that chance."

Having devised a plan, Shelton drafted a lease agreement between himself and his mother, which designated him as the home's legal occupant. He then loaded his Jeep with guns and his dog and drove to California, arriving at 4 a.m. to discover cars parked in the driveway. Shelton parked down the street and waited until everyone left the house several hours later.

Using the keys to the house, Shelton let himself in, and video footage shows that the house was furnished with a bed and other furniture, as well as boxes of belongings, including what appeared to be a uniform from the California Department of Corrections.

While Shelton was installing security cameras, two women arrived at the house.

In a video that Shelton recorded, one of the women can be heard saying, "I'm so sorry about all of this. It's a nightmare and beyond."

Shelton informed the woman that if all of their belongings were not removed from the property by midnight, he would have them removed. The suspected squatters missed the deadline but had vacated the premises by three o'clock, according to Shelton.

"I think just the fact that I was there was enough," he said. "It was actually fun to do it. I won't lie about that. I'm glad it was successful."

In a second video, Shelton warned against following his example.

"Not everyone should walk through that door not knowing what you're gonna find," he said. "It's not always going to be peaceful like that."