Winter Haven, Fla — A central Florida woman trying to sell her home, instead had it taken over by a man who she didn’t know and who hasn’t been paying any rent.
The man Charlotte Brown describes as a squatter has been in the house more than a year. She hasn’t been able to get him out and the clock is ticking because she could lose the home to foreclosure.
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She bought the Winter Haven home in 2021. It’s a large home on lot with woods behind it. She thought it was the perfect place to raise a family.
“I like the space. I like the floor plan. I like the location,” she told Action 9 Consumer Investigator Jeff Deal.
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When Brown’s fiancé had health problems, she became his full-time caretaker, and their finances took a hit. Not wanting to fall further behind on payments and HOA dues, in 2023 she first listed the home for sale.
She said, “I just had the opportunity to sell. So, that was definitely a plus, especially with the increase in, you know, the market.”
Brown quickly found an interested a buyer named Obed Torres, a real estate agent from California.
According to Charlotte Brown, a company helping Torres with the deal requested the keys so he could get the carpets cleaned before he moved in. That’s where the problems started. She said Torres changed title companies a couple of times and the sale never went through. In spring of 2024 he moved in anyway.
“It’s terrible… it’s deceitful, it’s hurtful,” Brown said.
She filed a report asking the sheriff’s office to investigate and twice filed court documents to get Torres out of her house. But she admits she didn’t understand the process and missed hearings, so the cases got dismissed.
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In the first case, Torres wrote a letter to the judge saying he was still trying to buy the house and that his actions were in good faith.
In the second case, he claimed the property was “abandoned and left vacant” by Charlotte Brown and accused her of causing him “significant duress and uncertainty.”
At one point in 2024, text messages to a real estate agent involved show Obed Torres agreed to move out, but as recently as this April he asked the judge for an extension, citing personal health issues.
When the Action 9 team stopped at the house in September and in November, they heard dogs barking inside. Consumer Investigator Jeff Deal left a message with a phone number on the doorbell camera both times.
Torres never responded, but neighbors told Action 9 they’ve seen him and his family living there as recently as last week. Now, Charlotte Brown’s mortgage company has filed for foreclosure since she couldn’t afford to pay rent on the home she’s living in now and keep up with payments on the house.
Jeff Deal said, “So, you’re afraid you could lose this house.” Brown replied, “Absolutely, absolutely.”
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Action 9 asked attorney Mark Lippman to weigh in on the case. After seeing how Torres has managed to stay in the home rent-free for more than a year, Lippman agreed to help Charlotte Brown at no charge.
Lippman said, “His answer was garbage. So, the fact that he said that she had abandoned the property is incorrect.”
Laws against squatting in Florida got tougher last year, and Lippman is hoping to help Brown get Torres out and prove he’s squatting in her house.
“If you can show that somebody’s squatting, they can actually be arrested. It is a criminal offense in Florida now. So, we are looking at that as well,” Lippman said.
Right now, a decision on Brown’s foreclosure is set for January. She’s hoping to get Torres out of there and sell the house before then.
To keep something like this from happening, Lippman said it’s best not to give access to the home until the real estate transaction is finalized. Also, make sure you attend every court hearing if you’re trying to remove someone from your house, so the judge doesn’t close the case.
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