NEW YORK CITY (NewsNation) — A squatter living in a New York home allowed the homeowner and NewsNation cameras into the home to retrieve decades-old family belongings.
For years, Donna Kent wondered what was in the attic of her father’s old house. He died in 2012 and more than a decade later, the house is hers.
However, there’s been one giant hurdle keeping Kent from getting inside: A squatter named Kyle.
Meet Kyle: Kent’s squatter
“I figured eventually somebody would show up, but nobody showed up,” Kyle told NewsNation.
Kyle has been living in Kent’s house for the last six years, but not with ill intentions.
“I understood the situation clearly that somebody would come back,” Kyle said, “and how would it make them feel if I told them I threw away their parents’ property.”
Years later, Kyle opened the doors for Kent, inviting her inside to go through her father’s belongings.
In the attic of the house, boxes of her father’s stuff crowded the space.
“So much stuff everywhere,” she said.
Rummaging through father’s belongings
Pictures spanning generations, books, baseball cards and other memorabilia were piled up.
“At this point, I’m just sort of overwhelmed to be honest,” Kent said.
Among the items crowding the space, Kent discovered several cans of what appeared to be ashes or the remains of someone or something.
“We think we found some people’s ashes in containers, but we don’t know who they are,” Kent said.
She later determined that the ashes belonged to animals and the attic was somewhat of a makeshift pet cemetery.
“Makes me feel a little better that it’s pets and not people up here,” Kent said.
Not the closure Kent hoped for
However, after years of waiting, Kent said she didn’t get the closure she has been hoping for.
“I’ve always felt like there was something in there to give me some information, a glimpse into my dad’s life. It’s nice I was able to get into the house and see it for myself,” she said.
Kyle told NewsNation that he’s heard lots of horror stories about squatters taking up residence in other people’s homes. When confronted about it by our crew, he said that he didn’t exactly look at himself as a squatter.
“I am. Technically that is what it is, but I didn’t break in, and I didn’t come in illegally,” Kyle said. “It’s just, they stopped coming and collecting rent.”
‘Like the Wild Wild West’
On the streets of New York, real estate is “like the Wild Wild West,” New York real estate agent Sal Taormina said. When it comes to squatters, he said it’s getting out of control.
“So, in my experience, it’s been getting out of control and accelerating, especially in New York where the tenant-landlord courts aren’t favorable,” Taormina said.
Taormina said he is tackling the squatter situation one dilapidated house at a time.
At another New York home, squatters have occupied the space for the past eight years.
Robert, who claims to be a two-time squatter, shared his experience with NewNation.
“There are houses that I went into and there are crackheads in there, the walls, they try to steal the pipes. What they do, you wouldn’t imagine. So, we’re actually a blessing,” Robert said.
Robert explained that by squatting in these homes, they are preventing others from stealing and damaging the homes further.