EAST COBB, Ga. — A property management company is taking action to prevent squatters from re-entering a house in Cobb County after they told neighbors they were tricked into signing a fake lease.
Police told Channel 2 Cobb County Bureau Chief Michele Newell that they have been called to the property in East Cobb four times in the last month.
Neighbors say they were shocked to see police outside of the home once again.
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The people living inside were evicted and now the property management company as posted no trespassing signs in the windows hoping to deter more squatters.
“The neighborhood is relieved having peace of mind at night knowing that there’s not strangers without background checks just living steps from our door,” an anonymous neighbor said.
She told Newell that the people living inside told police that they had paid someone and believed that they were in a legal lease agreement.
“However, they didn’t provide police with papers so they were eventually evicted,” she said.
The Open House Property Management Group manages the property and two others in Fulton County that police say the squatters took over.
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The squatters are accused of presenting fake lease agreements to authorities and delaying actual renters from moving in.
Just a few weeks after police shut down their operation, a new group of squatters moved in.
“Apparently, this new group was tricked into a fake lease agreement, so they were paying someone who had claimed they were the owners of this house,” the neighbor explained.
Neighbors say the new signs appear to be working for the time being.
Newell contacted Open House Atlanta Property Management Group to find out what’s next for the property but has not heard back.
“Even though I can say we are relieved with the resolution that’s come out of this, we still don’t have 100% answers on who was in there, what they were doing,” the neighbor said.
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