SAN DIEGO, Calif. — A San Diego senior is warning others after she said an unlicensed plumber turned into a squatter who began renting out rooms in her home, creating what she described as a years-long nightmare.
The case is drawing attention to how difficult it can be for homeowners to remove squatters, even from their own properties.
It started when Jordy Smith, 76, and her partner hired a plumber to fix some pipes while they temporarily relocated to another home.
"He just took over and, like, before we knew it, there was like 15 people," Smith said.
Smith said she later learned the man was not a licensed plumber and had changed the utilities to his name and begun renting out rooms in the City Heights home to others.
"Once that happened, it really made it look like to the homeless people that were coming in, that made it look like it was his house," Smith said.
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Smith said she and her partner were locked out of their own home. "I couldn't sleep at night. I mean, it just seemed like we'd never get back home."
She said when she and her partner tried to confront the squatters, they got nowhere.
"They would just lock the door and wouldn't talk to us," Smith said.
Smith said she went to the police and then the courts but kept hitting a wall.
"I'm not stupid. I'm well educated, have an MBA."
Part of the problem, according to Kimrey Kotchick, co-founder of the Squatter Squad, was that Smith's partner could not locate paperwork proving he was the owner of the home, which his mother had gifted him through a trust decades earlier.
"He knew that he was the one that was the successor trustee, but they couldn't find the trust anywhere," Kotchick said.
Dispatch logs obtained by Team 10 through a public records request show San Diego police were called to the home more than 30 times from January 1, 2024, to August 17, 2026. Residents called to report suspected drug deals, trespassing and smoke coming from the property.
Two years after the ordeal began, the couple brought in the Squatter Squad and listed the house for sale. Kotchick located the missing paperwork through the county recorder's office, but he said it still took another five months before the owner could legally evict the squatters.
Kotchick said part of the problem is that squatter disputes are often treated as civil matters. That means even when law enforcement responds to a home with squatters, if someone claims to be a renter, the matter is often left for the courts to resolve.
"And we keep saying enough is enough this could be handled very quickly," Kotchick said.
Team 10 was on scene the day of the eviction, when armed deputies told the squatters it was time to leave. Some told us they had been paying rent, but not to the home's registered owner.
"Some were hiding in RVs, some were hiding in vans," said Nicholas George, an unlawful detainer assistant and process server who works with the Squatter Squad.
Minutes after deputies left, the squatters tried to get back onto the property.
"They wanted to come back in, and we just can't do that today. We have to secure the property. There's huge code violations here," George said.
George said scenes like this are not unusual.
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"I do these in Riverside and LA County. This is pretty common. This happens quite a bit," George said.
Smith said she was heartbroken when she went back inside. Cherished antiques were gone. The home was destroyed.
"It was such a nice place before you would never know," Smith said.
After the eviction, the home sold. Smith said she is still reeling from the stress and is urging homeowners to make sure they have their documents in order.
"They know the rules. They know how to get away with it. I mean, when we cannot even go in our own home," Smith said.
She is calling for tougher penalties for trespassers.
"Make some new laws and take care of the legitimate people that are having the problems because it really has caused a lot of stress for us a lot," Smith said.
Smith hopes that by sharing her story, others will think twice before leaving a contractor alone in their home.
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