Las Vegas Squatters Invade Nevada Valley Area In Record Numbers
Las Vegas squatters have moved into vacant homes in record numbers. An increase of squatting in the Nevada city has increased by a tune of 43 percent in 2015, which are the last figures available.
More than 4,000 complaints about Las Vegas squatters were given to police officers last year. The most recent squatting figures are approximately double what law enforcement officers dealt with in 2012.
Some of the squatters were merely families looking for shelter, but others had more nefarious plans in mind, according to a New York Times report. Las Vegas police officers reportedly discovered copious amounts of “chop shops,” drug dealing, and counterfeit operations inside vacant homes throughout the city.
“People drive through neighborhoods and look for houses that appear to be vacant,” said Las Vegas Police Lt. Nick Farese.
The officer is reportedly heading up anti-squatter efforts in the city.
The new frontier for squatters: The empty homes of Las Vegas https://t.co/ato7NYpMai pic.twitter.com/TEaSwLxf7q
— The New York Times (@nytimes) May 15, 2016
A Las Vegas Sun report deemed the city a “squatter’s paradise.” The local paper also stated that the real estate market in the area has improved over the course of the past several years but noted “thousands” of vacant homes still dot the landscape.
Economic woes, such as layoffs and a rash of foreclosures, have been touted as the primary reason Las Vegas has become a bastion of squatting. Police officers are reportedly now being called to investigate squatter complaints all over the valley region.
According to the local newspaper report, Las Vegas squatters often break into the home and then change the locks so they can come and go freely. Some of the lawbreakers have also reportedly created fake lease papers in an attempt to show they have a right to be on the property if questioned.
Some of the Las Vegas homes are completely trashed by the squatters, but others are simply trespassed upon without any substantial damage being sustained.
“Things get out of hand pretty quickly when these people move in,” long-time local resident Jacquelyn Romero said, according to a Seattle Times report. “We’re trying to do almost like a neighborhood watch, just to keep ourselves safe.”
Romero also recalled a squatter threatening some other neighbors with a metal pipe and another who broke into cars in the area. The Las Vegas resident lives in one of the several areas where many homes have been boarded up or foreclosed upon in recent years. She believes there are likely more squatters in her neighborhood but, noting it is often difficult to identify such offenders.
An “anti-squatter” law was recently passed in the state to help curtail the emerging problem. Nevada State Representative Victoria Seaman said the legislation allows law enforcement investigators to both remove and arrest squatters far more quickly. Seaman is a Las Vegas native and is also a real estate agent by trade.
According to KNPR, before the Las Vegas squatters law was enacted last November, moving into a home that does not belong to you was only a civil matter. Now, “housebreaking” and “unlawful occupancy of a home” are both criminal offenses.
The half-abandoned suburbs of Las Vegas are being settled by squatters https://t.co/4rBMijHk3V
— Urbanphoto (@urbanphoto_blog) May 15, 2016
Some of the folks living in homes and being arrested as squatters claimed they were not intending to break the law at all. Vandana Bhalla, a Las Vegas real estate broker, maintains some of the individuals and families were taken in by scammers who sold or leased properties they did not own.
“I think that because of the bill and publicity that’s why we’re seeing an increase,” Bhalla said.
Do you think squatters could be hiding in plain sight in your town?
[Image by Pabkov/Shutterstock.com]
