This sort of crime has become common - trespassers/burglars break into a vacant house. They have a phony lease. They change the locks. The real owner calls the police. IF the police even bother to show up they look at the phony lease and say he has a lease this is a civil matter take it up with the courts. The police cars all have computers and they could check with the register of deeds to see who really owns the house, but it’s too much work so the police leave and the owner has to spend thousands in legal fees and wait months while the squatters trash the place, steal everything that’s of value, run up water and electricity bills etc. before the court directs the county sheriff to evict the squatters. Meanwhile the owner is out legal fees, the loss of property that the squatters stole, and the usual massive repair and cleaning fees for the damage the squatters leave behind. Not unusual to find rooms with feces and urine all over the floor. Walls torn apart to steal the copper pipe and electrical wiring, appliances stolen and sold. You get the picture.
You can’t sue the squatters because they have no assets.
Moral if you have vacant property install a monitored alarm system it’s a lot cheaper than dealing with squatters.
Pay a biker gang a couple of grand to evict them. Problem solved.
Well said,and thank you.
some people know how to game the system.Too bad it can’t be simple and logical.