Man praised for 'outwitting' squatters who had moved into house by playing them at own game

A man has been hailed for outsmarting squatters who had taken over his property and refused to budge. The man, who worked for a property management company, shared on Reddit how a tenant had permitted his friends to move into the house and they had stayed long enough to claim squatters' rights.

Despite attempts to negotiate their departure, the group stubbornly insisted on taking the legal route.

He wrote on Reddit: "I worked for managed properties out of California where we were located. A tenant allowed friends to move in and then vacated after his friends had lived there for a while. We tried to negotiate but these douches decided they wanted us to go the legal route.

"Instead, we found the biggest son of a B we could hire. We have him a fresh lease with his name on it, a 36-pack of Coors, pizza take-out, and keys. He was instructed to sit on their couch, watch their TV, and get comfy." When the friend group returned home and discovered the stranger sitting on their sofa, they firmly told him to leave.

However, he stood his ground and told them to call the police if they wished. He continued: "He wasn't moving. He told them to go ahead and call the police. They did. The police told them he was legally allowed to be there. Tenants had stronger rights than owners in this area. They were out within a week, while we paid him to be an absolute nuisance."

Commenting on the post, one user remarked: "This honestly sounds like a fun job."

Another chimed in with a personal anecdote: "The smelly tramp routine. A software house I worked for in the early 80s dealt with non-payers by having a colleague wear stinking clothes sit in the client's lobby with the invoice and refuse to leave until paid."

A third shared their local experience: "There are three brothers in my city that do this. I found out because they also move furniture. They said moving furniture helped them get their foot into the door with this type of business. Now it's just word of mouth."

They continued describing the trio: "They are pretty intimidating guys. Well over 6 feet tall, have tattoos, are muscular, and wear clothes that show most of their body off (athletic shorts and tank tops). They said they're allowed to bring their well-trained dogs with them and basically just make people's lives miserable. They were very nice, respectful, had some awesome stories, and were really funny."