'Get them out': Alleged squatters take over $4.4M SF property, neighbors wait for city to act
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Neighbors say alleged squatters appear to be taking over a $4 million home in San Francisco's Sea Cliff neighborhood.
Records show complaints have been reported to the city over the past year. But neighbors complain the city has failed to take action until now -- with the city attorney filing a lawsuit this week.
It's a fear that can happen to any homeowner: squatters taking over your property. We see it happen across the country.
But this case comes with an unusual twist.
It takes place in one of the priciest ZIP codes in San Francisco.
"It's scary -- I go to bed nervous. I wake up nervous," said one neighbor.
How it started
Neighbors say this house along 32nd Avenue in Sea Cliff is attracting unwanted attention... with unfamiliar faces at all hours of the night.
"It really has been a 24-hour surveillance that's going on," a neighbor said. "People are at a breaking point."
At 4 a.m., neighbors say surveillance video captured property stolen in plain sight... unknown people packing the trunk with suitcases. Luxury cars outside, some appear without license plates.
And no one knows what's happening inside.
Or most importantly: who really owns the property.
7 On Your Side's Stephanie Sierra tried getting those answers by speaking to a person who appears to be living in the property.
Stephanie Sierra: "Hi. My name is Stephanie Sierra with ABC News in San Francisco. I just had a couple questions for you."
Individual: "Uh... this is not a good time."
Sierra: "Do you own this house?"
Individual: "Yes."
Sierra: "I see your name on the title... I also see another individual's name on the title. Can you help me understand your relationship with him?"
(No response.)
Sierra: "Can you just step out for a second? So we could talk briefly?"
Individual: (Muffled, through window.)
Sierra: "Can you help me understand your relationship with the individual on the title? Seems to be a long history there."
Property records show the deed changed hands between two people at least seven times in the past year -- four since July. Both claim the other is not the real owner.
Neighbors say the property appears to have been abandoned by the owner in 2020, but over the past year, a group of roughly a dozen people have frequented the property. Some appeared to have moved in.
Locals say it's not exactly the most inviting group.
"Then one day the front door of the house was broken down..." one neighbor said. "Then a deed was recorded in an individual's name and that started this whole process."
Property ownership paperwork questioned
The San Francisco Police Department said the District Attorney's office is currently investigating the case. Questions have been raised about the legitimacy of the first deed transfer to the alleged squatter.
The notary on the documents told 7 On Your Side his signature was forged, and he's reported it to the authorities.
He wrote: "I do not use all caps. The imposter has clearer/crisper handwriting than I do. If they had a copy of one of my actual certificates... they did a very poor job of trying to imitate it."
Copies of the two deeds show the difference between the two signatures.
7 On Your Side reached out to other notaries (seven total) listed on the recent title history between the two alleged squatters. Four of them told us that their signature or stamp was either forged or that the document was "altered" since they signed.
"It's tragic," said Bill Anderson, vice president of Government Affairs of the National Notary Association, adding the notary becomes a victim in these alleged deed frauds.
"What we're finding at the National Notary Association... 12% of our $100,000 insurance claims since 2023, those have been seal fraud cases," Anderson said.
While the DA's office is investigating the alleged deed fraud in this case, real estate experts also raised questions about the unusual title history.
Real Estate Attorney George Wolff says the back-and-forth title history over a short period of time is suspicious.
"It's definitely a mystery," Wolfe said. "It seems pretty strange. It could be that they're just trying to confuse people..."
"Have you seen cases like this before?" Stephanie Sierra asked.
"I have heard of stories of people forging deeds, getting title of your property and taking loans out against your property. Most people are doing it to get money out of the property," Wolff said.
Last year, one of the alleged squatters contacted a local real estate agent to sell the house and a group of people showed up at the property for an open house.
Text messages from potential buyers show the $4.4 million property was listed for under market value at $2.9 million.
Investor Alex Martin of We Buy SF Bay Homes saw the listing when it was still off-market.
"That's where the alarm bells went off," said Martin, referring to the price.
"At what point were you like -- 'wait a second?'" asked Stephanie Sierra.
"Well, we called the person back -- very sketchy, very shady... they wanted cash up front. They wanted to know how quickly we could close. And whether we could close in cash... No, this was too risky," Martin said.
A local real estate group issued a warning about the listing, cautioning potential buyers of the red flags.
What records show
7 On Your Side Investigates did some digging on the individuals who are listed on the title of this house, who local real estate agents say were trying to sell it.
Public records reviewed by 7 On Your Side show one of the individuals listed on the title has numerous convictions.
In 2008, he pled guilty to pretending to be a Hurricane Katrina victim in order to steal $48,000 from FEMA and the Red Cross.
According to the sentencing memorandum, "The defendant has a history of similar conduct. On June 9, 2004, the defendant was convicted of a misdemeanor for passing a check with insufficient funds. On March 31, 2005, the defendant was convicted for passing a false check. On July 27, 2005, the defendant was again convicted of a misdemeanor for passing a false check."
And currently, he has a warrant out for his arrest for numerous felonies in San Mateo County.
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According to a police incident report, the other alleged squatter "had extensive criminal history."
Court records show this individual has also been evicted and has repeatedly filed for bankruptcy.
So, it begs the question: How did these people land on the title of a $4 million home in Sea Cliff?
"Get them out," said one neighbor.
"It's just a matter of time before something terrible happens in the house," said another neighbor.
One of the individuals hasn't returned our calls and stopped responding to our text messages, eventually writing: "No comment."
And we didn't hear back from the woman we talked with on the property either.
In late August, we eventually did get in contact with a man who claimed to be a retired attorney who appeared to be representing this woman. We had two scheduled interviews that were canceled and we have yet to receive proof of his admission to the bar. We're still waiting to hear back.
We tried speaking with another man who was bringing large bins out of the house and into their car.
Sierra: "Hi sir, my name is Stephanie. I'm with ABC News... Can I ask you a question? Hello? Can you help me understand what's going on here?"
Silence.
Sierra: "I heard from the neighbors you're bringing a lot of suitcases in and out of this home... Are you affiliated with this house?"
He drives the car into the street -- still silent.
Sierra: "Do you know the current owner?"
The man continued bringing bins from the house into the car -- and then took off in his car...leaving the front door to the house wide open.
What is the city doing about it?
"We need the city to do a better job of helping us out," said a neighbor, adding that they've been trying to get these people out for a year now.
"There's been a lack of action," another neighbor said.
That's until this week.
The San Francisco City Attorney's office filed a lawsuit against both alleged squatters for what they describe as an "unlawful scheme to obtain ownership of a property located at 250 32nd Avenue... through the recording of forged deeds with the San Francisco Assessor's office that were fraudulently notarized."
They added: "The Defendants' fraudulent conduct has threatened the integrity of multiple city agencies."
We spoke with many neighbors living on 32nd Avenue who did not want to be named out of fear of retaliation. One father is a third-generation naval officer who says he might move out of San Francisco because of this.
"San Francisco is on the right track under Mayor Lurie. And this story is exactly the type of narrative the city has been trying to overcome. We just need common sense," said the neighbor.
But the answer here doesn't appear to have a common-sense solution.
The San Francisco Assessor-Recorder's Office says it has no legal authority to resolve a matter like this, as it's not a law enforcement agency. Recording a document, such as a deed, places a document on the public record and gives public notice that the document exists. But it is not a finding that the transfer actually occurred, and recording alone does not make a document valid. Only a court can determine ownership or if fraud occurred.
Neighbors say they've tried reporting the issue to police dozens of times.
San Francisco PD tells 7 On Your Side: "The San Francisco Police Department recognizes neighbors' frustrations related to this residence. We are working with the District Attorney's Office, which is investigating this matter. The SFPD and Richmond Station take all crime extremely seriously and our officers will continue to enforce the law and respond to all calls for service."
But SFPD continues pointing to the DA's office.
The DA's office tells us: "As a matter of policy, we do not comment on the existence or non-existence of possible criminal investigations."
The mayor's office tells us: "We are in touch with neighbors and supporting however our office can."
"It really just feels like we've been handed around to department to department," commented a neighbor.
But the biggest question may be the absence of the original property owner, who investigators say has been unreachable -- leaving this $4.4 million property to deteriorate, according to neighbors.
At one point... video shows apparent flooding into the adjacent properties.
"It looks like there's no mortgage on the house -- it's all free and clear... so somebody has a $4 million asset that they've just kind of abandoned," said attorney George Wolff.
Sierra: "What does that tell you?"
Wolfe: "That's kind of the big mystery to me. What's going on there?"
The city attorney's office tells 7 On Your Side: "In situations involving suspected squatting or possible deed fraud, we typically need the property owner to definitively verify whether someone has the legal right to occupy a property."
Weeks later, adding: "Defendants are effectively trying to steal a house and sell it to make millions in profit. That is fraud, and they are trying to profit off that crime. This unfair business practice undermines the legal real estate market and wastes scarce government resources. We are asking the court to declare these deeds invalid and stop this fraudulent scheme."
In this case, investigators say the property owner has been out of the country. So, the alleged squatters continue to live there -- even though property taxes haven't been paid since 2020.
Amanda Fried is the city's chief assistant treasurer. She explains this is a highly unusual case for San Francisco.
"These property owners owe $321,000 to date," Fried said. "Properties that fail to pay their property taxes tend to be really unusable. Lots of small and buildable parcels sometimes are even underwater. And so, to have a house like this of quite significant value is certainly unique."
Wolff says the only way squatters can acquire rights to a property in California is through what's called "adverse possession." He says after at least five years of hostile occupation and payment of property taxes, squatters could go to court and be declared the legal owner. But until then they could also face eviction.
Apparently, not in this case.
"It's kind of suspicious that the owner isn't doing anything," Wolff said.
The only possible next step: A city auction. The property's five-year tax default status just qualified it for that process -- but Fried says the county has up to nine years to do it.
Sierra: "Will this be a priority for the city moving forward to get this to auction?"
Fried: "We certainly understand that this (is) a very different situation than most of the things in our auction portfolio -- we're going to do everything we can to collect that money... and we are certainly looking at whether making the auction go faster is a good thing to do in this case."
This week, the City Treasurer's office filed a resolution to have the property be considered for auction -- the first step in a lengthy process to move forward. However, at any point, a county supervisor can block the vote. We'll see what happens.
In the meantime, one of the alleged squatters moved back in, leaving the neighbors with young children feeling...
"It's scary," said one neighbor. "My only job is to keep my kids safe, and I'm not able to do that in my own home."
As for the DA's investigation, no criminal charges have been filed at this time.
Take a look at more stories and videos by 7 On Your Side.
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