I am about to move into my new home in Oregon, near (but not in) Portland.
Squatting in Portland is so bad that about 250 “unoccupied” homes are burned to the ground each year under suspicious circumstances that might be squatters.
Funny Story: So I have had a thorough anti-Squatting Team monitoring my empty house. One kid walks the property each night, two neighbors are watching by day, I visit once a week, and contractors are there often.
One early February night, the kid calls me. “The front door is wide open. The upstairs bedroom window is wide open,” he says.
“Leave the property immediately!” I warned.
So my best friend and I loaded up our trucks and made the 2 1/2 hour drive, arriving around 11 PM. We strap up, make a plan (bum rush anyone we encounter) and clear the house room by room, 9s drawn, shoulder to shoulder, he took left, I took right as we entered every room. House was clear.
A wind had probably blown open the door and window. All my exterior doors and windows were on order already, since they had long since failed. No squatters. Bad infrastructure.
Nice! Good planning!