Squatters in California

I get so used to the cultural things that happen in one place and not in another. It is often hard on a moment's notice to remember what happens where.

We are having an estate sale to empty my Mom's house before we put it on the market. We've hired an estate agent, Ruth to do this. She takes 40% and we get 60% and at the end of the sale, the house should be empty unless something very valuable goes unsold.

The only people that have keys to the house right now are my sister (in Houston), me (in Manhattan Beach) and Ruth.

This morning, I got a frantic call from Ruth telling me that her father had arrived at the house to start the day's work on the sale and there was a silver Mercedes in the driveway. We don't have a silver Mercedes, Ruth. Her father knocked on the door and a naked woman answered. He is 80, so this was his lucky day.

However, the house is supposed to be vacant. Panic set in -- we have a squatter and the house hasn't even been vacant for three days. Yikes. I told Ruth to call the police.

In Paris, squatters are somewhat common. When a building is vacant, they install large cement blocks in all the windows to prevent squatters. In France, squatters have rights, so if they are living in your place, illegally, you, the owner, don't have the ability to easily evict them. In the US, of course, we could get rid of a squatter quickly. But, a squatter in a house, even for one night can do a lot of damage.

Then, it occurred to me -- this isn't a squatter! Squatters aren't common in California, and they don't normally drive Mercedes!

Ruth's father had gone to the wrong house. And, when he thought she was in the house illegally, he called the police. I guess you can never be too careful when it comes to squatters. Even in the US.