In a very short period of time, a retired couple
went from euphoria to despair
.
The thing is that the dream finally fulfilled, the one they had longed for for years, suddenly turned into a horrifying nightmare, from which they cannot wake up.
After many years of work, the couple, composed of Joseph and Susana Landa, both 68 years old, managed
to fulfill their greatest ambition
: buy the house of their dreams where they can live out their retirement with their disabled son.
The Landas
paid $2 million
for the house, which has an area of just over 280 square meters and is located in the quiet and charming residential neighborhood of Douglaston, in Queens,
New York.
The place was perfect for their son Alex, who has Down syndrome.
He was close to his family -
especially his other son, older than Alex -,
which meant that their son could be quickly attended to in case something happened to the couple.
“I just want to know that I can die tomorrow and
he is next to his brother
,” Susana Landa explained to ABC 7. That gave her “deep” peace of mind, she added.
The unexpected obstacle
But everything went to waste when they encountered an unexpected obstacle that prevented, until today, six months after the deed was signed,
the couple from moving into their brand new home.
The house for which the new owners paid 2 million dollars.
The obstacle has a first and last name: Brett Flores, a 32-year-old young man, who is
illegally occupying the property.
Flores, who refuses to abandon it, was the caretaker of the house hired by the previous owner.
“We couldn't believe it, we couldn't believe it
,” said Susana, recalling what she felt when they encountered this situation.
The Landas filed a complaint but so far they have not been able to evict Flores.
It turns out that the man
filed for bankruptcy
and that "protects" him according to New York law.
The house for which the new owners paid 2 million dollars.
Since then, the Landas and Flores
have had five
civil court hearings and still have not been able to resolve the problem.
Flores' argument is that
he had an agreement with the previous owner
of the house, Bernie Fernández, who died in January 2023, to continue living at the residence.
The thing is stagnant.
The "outrageous" offer and the squatter's revenge
But suddenly, the unexpected intruder proposed a way out of the quagmire they were in.
If the Landas paid him more than
100 thousand dollars
, the man would leave peacefully.
The couple felt "outrage
" at the squatter's offer but they didn't have many other options so they accepted.
They would give him 100 thousand dollars but then the man said it
was not enough
.
However, they refused to pay him more.
Flores is 32 years old and was the caretaker of the house that he now refuses to leave even though they offered him 100 thousand dollars.
This is how they discovered that Flores is a vengeful squatter.
He increased the utility bills that, although they still couldn't even enter his house, the Landas pay regularly;
and caused a
sewage flood.
The couple told
Fox News
that Flores had flooded their backyard by allowing
a cesspool to become clogged,
forcing them to tear down a porch and ruin much of the property's landscaping.
The house for which the new owners paid 2 million dollars.
"He really
knows the system
and how to get by on his own without a lawyer, living rent-free, renting rooms, earning income and trashing," Joseph Landa said.
Serial squatter with his own demons
What Landa is referring to is that as they were able to find out, Flores is
a kind of "serial squatter
. "
The couple said Flores had also "done this before in
homes in Ohio and California
."
Meanwhile, with the national media echoing the story, a person "close" to Flores, who asked not to make his name known, told the
New York Post
that the squatter is a "wonderful" man who
is taking care of his own sick son.
The house for which the new owners paid 2 million dollars.
“The lungs did not fully develop
.
“He is on a ventilator
,” he told The Post about Flores’ son.
However, neighbors of the property testified that
they had not seen a baby
or a woman in the house, and that even "Flores hasn't been around much since the previous owner died."
Landa's children.
The next court hearing is scheduled for April.
Meanwhile, retirees continue to pay the price.
And they don't know until when.