Neighbors in one of Washington, D.C.’s most affluent suburbs have spent the better part of a year watching what many call a surreal nightmare unfold on their front doors — and now millions of Americans are watching, too.
A video report by FOX Baltimore Maryland Focus(1) chronicling the saga has racked up more than 2 million views on Facebook alone, drawing comments from thousands of viewers, mostly angry about what they see as a broken system.
At the center of the controversy is Tamieka Goode, a self-proclaimed litigation coach, and her partner Corey Pollard. The couple allegedly moved into a 7,500-square-foot bank-owned home on Burning Tree Lane in Bethesda, Maryland, last summer without any permission from the actual owner. The property is tied to Citigroup through foreclosure and is worth about $2.3 million.
The two were ultimately found guilty of trespassing and trespassing and sentenced to 90 days in jail. During the proceedings, Judge John C. Moffitt told Goode that she had “some crazy ideas to justify” preemption. Still, Goode managed to return to the property after posting a $5,000 cash appeal bond. In the hours after her release, surveillance video showed a woman matching Goode’s description strolling the icy driveway of the Bethesda mansion, wearing clothing similar to what she wore outside the courthouse.
A few months ago, Ian Chen, a 19-year-old college student who lives next door to his parents, noticed someone breaking into the vacant home. He called Montgomery County police.
The response was lackluster, Chen said. The police knocked on the door, but no one answered and left. When Chen pressed the issue, a spokesperson for the Montgomery County Police Department told reporters that because the residents had been in the home for more than 30 days, they had “obtained residential status,” meaning their eviction must be processed through the courts rather than law enforcement.
So Mr. Chen took matters into his own hands. In July 2025, he filed private criminal charges against Goode and Pollard with criminal trespassing and fourth-degree burglary. What followed was nine months of delays, missed court dates and legal maneuvering that left the community on edge.
“I was very scared,” Chen told Maryland Spotlight. “Everyone in our neighborhood is like this. We have a lot of elderly people who can’t even sleep at night.”
Things took a most dramatic turn on February 11, when authorities finally began clearing the property. Maryland Focus reports the activity intensified after Goode returned to the mansion after a brief jail term.
Goode and a co-worker were spotted moving items out of the mansion when multiple Montgomery County Sheriff’s deputies arrived just before 9:30 Tuesday night. Goode was taken into custody just before midnight and transported to a detention center.
All night long, moving trucks came and went. By Wednesday morning, nearly a dozen deputies, a group of workers and a vacant property security company had gathered at the house. Workers removed hundreds of personal items left behind, including couches, a piano, a Pac-Man arcade machine and a movie popcorn machine.
“If you say it shouldn’t be here, we’re going to take everything out,” a deputy sheriff told a bank representative at the property.
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Goode’s case is dramatic, but far from unique. Squatting incidents are on the rise across the country, in part because of a surge in social media content that has thrust the issue into the spotlight, which some believe has provided a playbook for would-be squatters.
A 2024 report from the Pacific Legal Foundation documented significant increases in squatting incidents in multiple states(2). Property management company Showdigs cited data compiled by Pew Research and the Urban Institute showing a 22% increase in reported squatting cases in 2024, with average evictions taking three to six months longer and costing owners between $8,000 and $15,000 in lost rent (3). In Georgia, squatter court cases jumped from three in 2017 to 198 in 2023, according to previous Moneywise reports, although that data only covers 25 of the state’s 159 counties.
The issue sparked a wave of legislative action. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed HB 621 on March 27, 2024, which allows property owners to file an affidavit and ask the Sheriff to evict an unauthorized occupant – provided that person is not a current or former tenant in the legal dispute(4). Georgia subsequently enacted legislation criminalizing squatting, allowing occupants to be removed within days if they could not produce proof of legal residence. New York, Alabama, Kentucky, Illinois, and Texas have all recently passed or advanced similar measures (5).
Notably, Maryland doesn’t have one yet. Montgomery County Democratic Representative Teresa Worman told reporters she wasn’t sure whether squatting should be a crime, a comment that frustrated Chen and his neighbors (6). However, the Bethesda case may be changing political calculus. Chen vowed to push for reforms in Annapolis.
“The squatting ends today, but the road to holding everyone accountable for their actions has just begun,” Chen said after the eviction. “It will end at the state capital in Annapolis, where I will ask the Legislature and Governor Moore to change the law so this never happens to our community again.”
About 5.6 million housing units in the 50 largest U.S. metro areas are vacant as of 2023, although the vast majority are vacant rentals, seasonal housing or properties under renovation, according to a LendingTree analysis of Census Bureau data. In most major metropolitan areas, foreclosures account for approximately 1% or less of vacant units (7). Still, those foreclosed and vacant homes could become targets for unauthorized occupations that kept the Bethesda community awake at night for nearly a year.
If you are worried about losing your home, or know someone who is worried about losing their home, the most important thing you can do is take action as early as possible. Lenders have more flexibility when working with borrowers who make early payments than those who wait until months to make payments.
Tolerate This may be an option if you are dealing with a temporary hardship, such as a job loss, medical emergency, or unexpected expenses. Your servicer may agree to reduce or suspend your payments for a period of time. You’ll need to pay back the missed amount later, but this can provide some breathing room while you stabilize. Under federal rules, servicers must review your loss mitigation options before foreclosure.
loan modification The terms of your mortgage can be permanently adjusted – extending the term of the loan, lowering the interest rate, or rolling missed payments into the remaining balance. For example, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s Flex Modification program targets a 20% reduction in principal and interest payments for eligible borrowers (8). If you have a Federal Housing Administration (FHA), Virginia (VA), or United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) loan, other specialized options may be available.
Free housing consultation It is available through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which maintains a network of approved counseling agencies that can help you understand your options, communicate with your lender, and develop a plan. You can contact the Homeowner Hope Line at (888) 995-HOPE or visit the HUD website (9). Be wary of any company that charges a fee for foreclosure prevention help—the money is almost always better spent on your mortgage.
Know your rights. Except in very special circumstances, the servicer cannot initiate foreclosure proceedings until your loan is more than 120 days past due. If you have submitted a complete loss mitigation application, your servicer must review it before proceeding. In many states, you have the right to reinstate the loan, which means you can stop the foreclosure process by making a lump sum payment of the past-due amount, even after proceedings have begun.
If keeping your home isn’t practical, selling before foreclosure is almost always better for your finances and credit. If you owe more than the home is worth, a “short sale” (where the lender agrees to accept less than the full balance) may be an option. It’s not ideal, but it’s much less harmful than a complete foreclosure, which can stay on your credit report for seven years and make it extremely difficult for you to qualify for future loans (10).
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Fox Baltimore (1); Pacific Legal Foundation (2); show Diggs (3); Florida (4); Bill Orbit 50 (5); Fox Baltimore (6); loan tree (7); Fannie Mae (8); HUD.gov (9); Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (10)
This article provides information only and should not be considered advice. It is provided without any warranty of any kind.
