After spending thousands of dollars to evict squatters from her own house, a Florida landlord is starting a website to help other property owners.
Patti Peeples, 61, told Fox News that she wants to “drive state and federal laws to treat squatters as criminals and to expedite the review of fraudulent leases.”
Peeples and her business partner Dawn Tiura kicked out two female squatters from their home earlier this year after they lived there illegally for more than a month and caused thousands of dollars in damage.
Squatters Occupy a Home in Florida for 34 Days
PushOutSquatters.org, which will launch later this week, will purposefully use the acronym “POS.”
“So many people who responded to news articles used that abbreviation, so I went with the double entendres,” explained Peeples, a retired business owner with experience in marketing.
According to her, the website would focus on both community engagement and information.
The website’s goal, according to Peeples, is to highlight the risks of squatting, and the increase in its prevalence, and to provide resources for individuals trying to evict squatters, such as security resources and legal resources on how to check state statutes.
Other squatter victims will be able to share their experiences on the website, she continued, allowing others to benefit from their mistakes.
Fox News confirms the news on their official Twitter account:
Florida squatter victim launching website to assist other landlords with illegal occupants https://t.co/R39A8PYUi0
— Fox News (@FoxNews) May 7, 2023
Plans to Sell Merchandise for Advocacy
The website’s logo, which depicts a stick figure kicking another stick figure out of a house, will be printed on hats and t-shirts that Peeples intends to sell as well.
According to Peeples, “We will use the money to lobby state legislators for better laws.”
The two squatters were forcibly evicted from Peeples’ investment property in Jacksonville, Florida, although they were there for 34 days and caused $38,000 in damage. During the process, Patti lost a potential buyer for the home, was forcibly ejected from the home by the squatters, and came to the conclusion that she was done with the real estate business.
According to Peeples, who is retired, “This is my retirement, so any sort of income that I was trusting to live off of for this year is diminished because of this act of stealing.” “They’ve essentially stolen my house from me,” the speaker said.
When police were summoned, the squatters, who have a history of illegal occupancy, produced a fake lease that allowed them to stay in the house until Peeples took them to court.
To evict the squatters, Peeples and Tiura had to pay $5,000 in court fees.
Peeples claimed that since her tale went viral, she has noticed good changes, such as former President Trump making fun of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis by bringing up squatters.
Peeples stated, “I’ve had hundreds of people send me messages on social media,” adding that stories about her predicament have been seen by millions of people.
She continued, “The exposure has also prompted the sheriff’s office here to pay closer attention to this and, if they can identify the squatters, seek criminal charges.
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