Squatter teacher, family invade luxury home as homeowner faces months-long eviction battle: realtor
Houston realtor working for months to evict squatters says the matter has been 'insane'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A Texas public school teacher and her family who had allegedly been squatting in a luxury Houston home for months have finally moved out following a court order.
Fourth grade Houston Independent School District teacher Amberlyn Prather and her family moved into a Houston home in January and remained there until this month by allegedly forging a lease agreement, ABC 13 reported.
"It's insane," realtor Shanequa Garrett told the outlet of the alleged squatting situation. Garrett said she was hired to sell the Houston home but had been unable to enter the house since January because of the family.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Garrett said she had to go to court several times to try to get the family to move out, but was told by officials the issue was a civil matter. A judge last month ultimately agreed with Garrett that the family was fraudulently staying in the home and that Prather’s alleged lease agreement was fake.
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Houston home where a public school teacher and her family allegedly squatted for months. (Google Maps )
Prather and her family moved out June 15, after the judge ordered her to vacate the premises by the beginning of this month.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Finally, they’re out," Garrett told the outlet. "Now it’s to keep the squatters out completely. We don’t want another situation like this."
I-45 running past downtown is shown from the Chase Tower observation floor Tuesday, Sept. 7, 2021, in Houston. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)
Garrett said that once she was able to enter the home, she figured out how the teacher's family had gotten into the house in January.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"They could climb on a trash can and climb on the roof," Garrett told ABC 13. "From this window [which was loose], they can just open it from the outside and jump in. Because we kept getting the house rekeyed, and they kept getting in."
Street view of Houston home where a public school teacher and her family allegedly squatted for months. (Google Maps )
Squatting incidents have exploded in certain areas across the country in recent months. In New York, for example, residents are facing a "growing problem" of squatters, according to a lawyer in the state that recently advised people to "treat your properties like a business" to help protect against squatters.
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The Houston school district and Prather did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on the matter Sunday morning.