You might think it’s easy to remove squatters from your home. It’s your property, after all, and you have rights.
Well, as the Daily Caller’s new documentary, “American Squatter,” uncovers, squatters have rights too. And it’s not so easy to get them out once they’ve taken over.
It’s best to let the professionals handle the eviction. As one squatter removal service we spoke with found out the hard way, you never know what you’re walking into.
“American Squatter” is available exclusively for Patriots subscribers. Catch a first glimpse below.
The Daily Caller’s investigative team sat down with the men of Dirty Domain Services, a professional squatter removal company based in the suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia. These are tough guys, they’re veterans, they’ve seen it all.
The company started out doing basic property maintenance, but with the squatter crisis spiraling out of control in Atlanta, founder Matt Urbanski and his team quickly became known for their “very special skill set.”
Squatters go into vacant properties and set up shop, often using them for drug and arms dealing or other illicit activities. Because of lax eviction laws and the likelihood of violence, helpless property owners can go for months or even years without rental income. That’s where Dirty Domain Services comes in. They go in strapped, ready for anything.
“Squatters can be extremely dangerous, they can be armed, they can be felons, you never know. We’ve had people get pulled out of these homes that were wanted for murder,” Urbanski told the Daily Caller.
“You can say one thing to them and they can pull a gun. And they don’t care if they go to prison for the rest of their life,” security specialist Jason Alexander said.
“Most of us are definitely heavily armed all the time,” he added.
This is a regular day for the guys at Dirty Domain Services. Sometimes, they can be chasing squatters at over 200 houses at a time. But nothing prepared Urbanski for “the incident” that he now remembers as one of the “worst days” of his life.
His wife was five months pregnant and they were on their way to the doctor when they popped in to check on a job site. It was supposed to be routine, but quickly spiraled out of control.
Some guys pulled up to the site. At first, they were “really cool.” He even talked to one of them about a job.But then they tried to get into the property to retrieve their things.
So Urbanski’s team called the police. Dirty Domain Services had taken back control of the property already with full legal permission. The place was a disaster, full of drugs and stolen car parts. A girl was there whose “services were being paid for.” Seeing this, Urbanski expected the police to keep the evicted squatters out of the property. But what did they do?
Well, they “didn’t do anything,” Alexander said. The police gave the former squatters daps and told them they could go back in. And when one of the guys charged at Urbanski, who defended himself, the police arrested him for “assault and battery” — not the squatter.
Things only got worse from there.
The property owner’s lawyers arrived and sorted things out with the police. They released Urbanski and his team was able to finish the job.
As they were leaving, the squatters came back. “He straight up told me, ‘Hey, I’m gonna kill you,” Urbanski recalled.
Urbanski and his team pulled out of the property in a caravan, when they saw the squatters in a yellow Hellcat waiting for them down the road. The Hellcat passed Urbanski and his wife and they saw three men with guns. They watched as the car pulled up next to his employees and started “lighting up” their vehicle.
The hellcat then started chasing Urbanski and his wife. Urbanski’s pregnant wife was driving 100 miles per hour while he hung out the window, ready to take the shot he knew might be necessary to save their lives. They were saved only because their big truck was able to fly over a hill that the hellcat couldn’t handle.
The Urbanskis got away, but his employees weren’t as lucky.
The worst part wasn’t being shot, the employees recalled. It was having to play dead when the squatters came back around to finish the job.
There are thousands of squatters currently residing in American homes, and not every property owner has access to specialists like Dirty Domain Services. But every single one of them risks a situation like the Urbanskis faced when they go to reclaim their property.
Watch “American Squatter” today to learn more about Urbanski’s experience in the squatter removal industry and the plight of everyday homeowners.
The Daily Caller’s documentary productions are made possible by our faithful Patriots members, and we wouldn’t be able to do it without them. To watch “American Squatter,” and to help support future investigative documentaries, please consider subscribing.