Squatters at a Miami property are threatening to derail its re-sale after being discovered by the property's listing agent.

By Peter Ricci

Everything seemed to be in place. The mother has passed away, a buyer had been found for her old property, and the mother’s daughter, Michelle Pinder, was prepared to sell the home and move on with her life – and then the squatters entered the picture!

In a story that has been garnering local and national attention, a family of squatters, unbeknownst to Pinder, overtook the vacant property on 751 NW 39th Court in Miami, and after being discovered by Pinder’s real estate agent, Brittney Nicole Barreto of Avatar Real Estate Services, are refusing to leave; and the buyers may walk away.

Could Inadvertent Squatters Ruin a Sale?

The squatter in question, Ibet Flores Castano, is currently living in Pinder’s house with her young daughter and another man. According to reports, Castano has a lease to the property and claims she has paid rent to live in the home, though the landlord Castano dealt with provided a faulty phone number and address on the leasing agreement.

New buyers had agreed to purchase the home, and Barreto only discovered Castano and the home’s other tenants when checking on the home before the closing, according to a CBS Miami report. Castano has refused to leave the property, and in response Pinder has sought council from an attorney and has begun eviction proceedings – on residence of a home she still technically owns!

The timelines, though, could pose a problem for Pinder and the sale of her home. According to CBS Miami, a judge ruled last week in favor of Pinder, though Castano was given 40 days to move out of the property.

Obscure Squatter Law Revived by Housing Downturn

Pinder’s case is not the only instance of squatter controversy in Florida. Marc Sarnoff, the commissioner of Miami, said squatters have been gaining possession of vacant properties throughout the city, changing the locks and presenting documents justifying their actions; and because police treat the incident as a civil manner, cases can stretch out for “months, weeks, sometimes almost a year away to get a person out that doesn’t belong in the property,” he told CBS Miami.

Also, more clever squatters have revived an obscure Miami law claim other vacant properties, as the Florida Times-Union explained. Called “adverse possession,” the applicant files a claim on a vacant property and pays taxes on it for seven years, and must improve on the property or cultivate for that time span; once the seven years it up, the applicant can petition a judge for the title.

Though the law’s original purpose was to entice people to take over deserted dwellings or rogue farmlands, it’s been exploited by modern-day squatters, and not just in Florida; law’s in Texas have been similarly rife for misinterpretation.

Have any squatter horror stories to share? Let us know in the comments section!