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According to Adriana Ward, the most stressful part of selling her Marietta, Georgia, home is waiting for the right offer. Instead, she discovered that others had claimed it as their own.
When her real estate agent arrived at the Twin Brooks Court house for a scheduled showing in December, the warning signs were immediate (1). The lock box is missing. The For Sale sign is missing. When Ward arrived, she noticed her normally open windows were closed and the door latches had been changed.
When police at the scene knocked on the door, the man who answered the door said he lived there. Timothy Pyron told police he had settled into the vacant home and was “building a nest,” court records show. Investigators said he claimed Georgia squatting laws protected him from eviction and described the situation as a “peaceful hostile takeover.”
Cases like Ward’s have attracted growing attention as homes remain vacant for long periods of time. An estimated 5.6 million properties are currently vacant in the 50 largest metropolitan areas in the United States, expanding the window for unauthorized occupants to test the limits of homeowner protection(2).
As these disputes become more apparent, are legal protections for homeowners finally starting to catch up?
Ward’s experience is shocking, but Georgia has taken steps to provide more legal support for homeowners, with House Bill 1017 criminalizing unauthorized occupancy starting in 2024 (3). Law enforcement can also now serve notices asking occupants to leave and have three days to remove them if they don’t comply.
“It’s crazy that people think they can break into and take over someone’s house,” Kemp told Fox News(4). “Squatters are criminals, not residents.”
However, in many states, evicting someone from a vacant property still requires formal legal proceedings. Homeowners must generally first confirm that an individual is occupying the property illegally and then provide written notice requiring them to voluntarily leave. If that fails, the next step is usually to file an unlawful detention or eviction action and appear in court, where the occupants may try to assert their legal right to stay. Financial damages can quickly escalate and include attorney fees, court documents, property damage, lost rental income, and cleanup costs. This alone can increase the total amount from $740 to over $8,000(5).
Ward said her experience exposed gaps that still exist in dealing with squatting, even in states that have taken action to strengthen homeowner protections. In her case, the man who entered her home was not charged with trespassing. Instead, the only charge brought was that of criminal damage, stemming from damage caused when the deadbolt was replaced. When she finally got home, it was in serious condition, with trash everywhere, the smell of pets and marijuana lingering, and her eyes burned.
“I hope this doesn’t happen to anyone else because it’s really painful,” she said.
She told Fox 5 News that she has since installed cameras on the property for closer surveillance (6).
For homeowners like her with vacant properties, such precautions may be the best line of defense. Other steps include regular home inspections or asking trusted neighbors, installing alarm systems, removing lock boxes during showings, and documenting the condition of the home with time-stamped photos.
Across the United States, lawmakers have moved to tighten squatting laws as the cases draw attention to the vulnerability of vacant properties. In March 2024, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed House Bill 621, allowing property owners to submit a sworn form and have a peace officer immediately remove squatters without going through court proceedings (7). In New York, property laws were updated in April 2024 to clarify that squatters are not considered tenants for any period of time (8).
Read more: Approaching retirement but no savings? Don’t panic, you’re not alone. Here are 6 easy ways you can catch up (and fast)
Cautionary stories like Ward’s may deter some real estate investors, but there are ways to benefit from the nation’s hot real estate market without having to buy a property that may sit vacant while it appreciates.
In fact, investors can enter the market with just $100. Real estate platform Arrived provides you with SEC-qualified rental homes and vacation rental investment stocks, curated and vetted based on their appreciation and income potential.
Backed by world-class investors like Jeff Bezos, Arrived makes it easy to add these properties to your portfolio, no matter your income level. Its flexible investment amounts and streamlined process can help accredited and non-accredited investors take advantage of this inflation-hedged asset class without requiring any additional work on your part.
Additionally, the American Housing Survey and the U.S. Census Bureau reported in 2019 that 31.4% of housing stock in the United States consists of multifamily units, and the National Association of Home Builders reports that the popularity of these units is only growing(9).
If you are interested in multifamily rentals, you may consider investing in Lightstone DIRECT, a new investment platform from Lightstone Group. Lightstone Group is one of the largest privately held real estate companies in the United States, with more than 25,000 multifamily units in its portfolio.
Because they eliminate intermediaries (brokers and crowdfunding middlemen), accredited investors investing at least $100,000 have direct access to institutional-quality multifamily opportunities. This simplified model helps reduce expenses while increasing transparency and control.
Through Lightstone DIRECT, you invest in single-asset multifamily transactions with a true partner, Lightstone, who invests a minimum of 20% of its own capital in each product. All investment opportunities at Lightstone undergo a rigorous, multi-stage review before being approved by Lightstone principals, including founder David Lichtenstein.
How it works is simple: Just sign up with your email and you can schedule a call with a capital formation expert to evaluate your investment opportunity. From here, all you have to do is verify your details to start investing.
Founded in 1986, Lightstone has a proven track record of delivering strong risk-adjusted returns across market cycles, with a historical net internal rate of return of 27.5% on investments made since 2004 and a historical net equity multiple of 2.49x. All told, Lightstone manages $12 billion in assets — including industrial and commercial real estate.
So even if multifamily rentals don’t interest you, Lightstone may still serve you well as an investment vehicle in other real estate verticals.
Start investing with Lightstone DIRECT today with experienced professionals.
Lending Tree (10) reports in 2025 that U.S. homeowners have $34.5 trillion in home equity, an increase of $600 billion from a year ago. Now, as home values soar and homeowners shy away from new debt, investors have new ways to invest.
Homeshares gives accredited investors access to a neglected segment: billions of dollars of locked-in equity in owner-occupied homes.
Rather than buying a property, investors participate through a home equity agreement (HEA) portfolio – allowing homeowners to free up cash without making monthly payments, while investors share in the future appreciation.
The result is that you gain exposure to a large, untapped market in top U.S. cities without the hassle of becoming a landlord or the risk of over-leveraging.
HEAs have built-in protection: They typically cover 25% to 35% of the home’s value in the form of a lien, which helps protect your investment if the market declines. Unlike traditional real estate, HEAs are also generally resilient to changes in interest rates, providing attractive risk-adjusted returns even in times of economic uncertainty.
With a diversified portfolio of high-quality homes and a target return of 14% to 17%, Homeshares offers you a practical way to gain exposure to a growing segment of the property market.
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Microsoft Network (1); Lending Tree (2), (10); Legislative Scan (3); @GovKemp (4), Leaserunner (5), Fox 5 Atlanta (6); Ron DeSantis Office (7); New York Senate (8); National Association of Home Builders (9)
This article provides information only and should not be considered advice. It is provided without any warranty of any kind.
