Posted on 01/10/2026 1:41:36 PM PST by nickcarraway
The Brief:
Oakland couple's home trashed by strangers who compromised home-sharing rental account
Victims say intruders used drugs, had sex, trashed the home, and stole their car
Oakland police are investigating
Oakland - An Oakland couple said Friday that they're still cleaning up and taking stock after their home was overrun by strangers who compromised a home-sharing account, allowing them to use drugs, have sex and even steal their car.
"These are trashy people that were here," said a resident who wished only to be identified as Eric, along with his wife, Jenny.
"They were using drugs. There was drug paraphernalia all over the house," Jenny said.
"In every bathroom, there are needles," Eric said.
Home-rental account hijacked What we know: The couple said they're frustrated because their home in Oakland’s Leona Heights neighborhood was hijacked by strangers through the HomExchange rental platform.
This week, while on their 21st anniversary vacation in Lake Tahoe, they realized that strangers had taken over their home.
Their doorbell camera showed many people showing up, over and over again.
"There were so many people coming and going," Jenny said. "There was about nine people who came and went."
The trespassers made themselves at home, leaving dirty dishes in the sink and stayed for 36 hours until the couple's cleaner came by and saw what was happening.
The couple rushed home from Tahoe to clean — and to cry, upset they'd been taken advantage of by someone claiming they were a couple who needed their home at the last minute because they were visiting a sick relative at the hospital.
"We haven’t slept for two days," Eric said.
One interloper stole the couple's beloved Mini Cooper.
They also suspect the intruders brought women over to have sex.
"I mean, this is, these people are on the lowest level of the overall crime ring that came into our house," Jenny said.
One man even brought a dog and fed it with the couple's dog food.
"They brought a dog, and then they washed their dog in our tub, and they used like a brush, one of our brushes, and it’s full of dog hair," Jenny said.
His voice quavering, Eric said, "It’s hard work maintaining a home. We work hard, we’re teachers, we contribute to our community."
Jenny said, "I just get through it by being grateful and recognizing that we have a beautiful house, we have each other."
Response by company What they're saying: The couple says HomeExchange has promised to make them whole by paying for their expenses, including for a locksmith. The company did not respond to a request for comment on Friday.
"I just hope that they really take this as a wake-up call, and they do the right thing," Jenny said.
Oakland police are investigating this as a burglary, fraud and grand theft auto.
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Hopefully they learned a valuable lesson: never sign up for a home-swapping service.
Hellraisers? Yes. Theives? One of them, sure. Lowest rung of the crime ring? I’ll bet you even voted for some of them.
An idea shared only among fools.
Normal Americans victimized.
One famous celebrity case. George Harrison had to stop visits to his grounds by hippies (by the way when he visited Haight Ashbury he was disgusted, appalled and outspoken in condemning their laziness and squalor). They then figured out a way to place tiny pebbles on the bottoms of the iron gate bars so the lock never really clicked. Then they could sneak in later.
One man in 1999 confronted Harrison’s wife in the kitchen, holding a big knife, and then Harrison jumped at him to save her. The intruder Michael Abram stabbed him 40 times, “with injuries so severe his lung had to be removed, though he was lucky to survive as a blow narrowly missed a major artery.”
A whole lot of evil people are walking around. Someday the tide will turn.
As a host:
A deposit of up to $500 USD / €500 EUR is payable by your guest for minor damage.
HomeExchange covers property damage up to $1,000,000 USD / €1,000,000 EUR.
HomeExchange covers you in the event of theft.
Sort of a microcosm there.
bkmk
The real trick is collecting.
“WE’RE TEACHERS” ==
WE ARE STUPID
I think I see the problem.
The thought of lending your actual home to strangers...
Tom Green did a comedy special. He said “I’m staying at an AirBnB. It’s like a hotel, but it’s someone’s home. And all their stuff is there. And you can go through their stuff...I’m wearing their pants right now. And I’m on their medication.”
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