Politics
NYC Family’s Dream Home Turns Nightmare as Squatter Refuses to Leave
Clear Facts
- The Landa family, successful interior designers, purchased a $2 million house in Douglaston, New York City, intending for their sons to reside there and care for their brother with Down Syndrome.
- The house came with an unexpected problem: a former caretaker, Brett Flores, who refused to leave, claiming squatters’ rights and filing for bankruptcy to protect himself from litigation.
- Flores, who had been the caretaker for the previous owner, has been taken to court nine times, over half of which have occurred since the Landas purchased the home. He has allegedly demanded a large sum of money to leave the property.
In a quiet, affluent suburb of New York City, a family’s dream home has turned into a nightmare. The Landa family, owners of Interiors by J. C. Landa, a renowned interior design firm, purchased a $2 million house next door to their current residence. Their intention was for their sons to live there and help care for their brother with Down Syndrome.
The family’s company, Interiors by J. C. Landa, has worked with “many of the most exclusive homes and corporate offices in the country,” including the White House during the Obama administration. The Landas expressed their gratitude for the opportunity “to have served the White House throughout the past eight years” in a Facebook post.
However, their new property came with an unexpected issue: a tenant who refused to leave. Brett Flores, a 32-year-old nurse, had lived in the home as the caretaker for the previous owner, Bernand Fernandez. After Fernandez’s death, Flores claimed squatters’ rights and filed for bankruptcy, a move the Landa family’s lawyer argues is intended to protect him from litigation.
“Mrs. and Mr. Landa, or any of their representatives, do not under any circumstances have my consent to enter my residence here,” a sign on the door of the house read. “I decline any contact request with the Landas, and any contact will be interpreted as harassment. Kindly forward all communications to my lawyer, Dennis O’Sullivan, whose contact info is listed below. Thank you.”
Flores, who received $3000 a month for his caretaker services, claimed that Fernandez gave him permission to remain in the house. However, he has failed to produce any supporting evidence for this claim.
“We’re in the process of having the automatic bankruptcy stay lifted so that we can go back to court and proceed with a trial,” Anthony Mordente, the lawyer for the Landa family, told Fox News Digital. “I think we’ll be successful. I don’t have any reason why the bankruptcy judge would have any reason to keep the stay in effect.”
“[The house] is not part of his bankruptcy estate because he doesn’t have a ten-year lease that would give him time to stay here, so without a lease and without an agreement to stay, the bankruptcy judge is going to say: What is this all about?” Mordente added.
Mordente also rejected the notion that Flores had any basis for occupancy, either as a proper tenant or as a squatter. He stated, “A squatter is technically someone who breaks into a property, so he has entered without the permission of his employer, so he’s technically not a squatter in the legal sense of the term. In my opinion, he doesn’t have any possessive interest in the space because, in point, his employment has been terminated by the death of his employer.”
Flores has now appeared in court nine times, over half of which have occurred since the Landas bought the home. He has reportedly demanded a large sum of money, “in excess of $100,000,” to leave the property, a demand the family has refused.
O’Sullivan, Flores’ lawyer, declined to comment on claims that Flores had offered to leave if paid. However, he stated that his client’s position is that the family has used intimidation tactics to try and force him out of the home. Mordente denied that the Landas had engaged in any form of intimidation.
Flores did not respond when Fox News Digital knocked on the door of the property. An examination of the home revealed that several security cameras were visible around the property, some of which had been painted over. The lawn and side yard sit have been totally torn up: Mordente claimed the family did so after Flores caused a sewage back-up by clogging the pipes.
Most strikingly, many residents did not appear to have known that Flores did not own the home and had lived there as a potential squatter. At a church within walking distance of the home, a patron said they couldn’t believe it would happen in such an affluent area.
Flores had posted on several rental sites – all of which have since been deleted – and advertised individual rooms, such as the “Prince Room,” which he charged $50 a night, according to The New York Post.
O’Sullivan said that he would offer further comments on Friday in response to the increased media attention on the case.
Clear Thoughts (op-ed)
The case of the Landa family and their squatter problem is a glaring example of the flaws in our legal system. A family who worked hard to purchase a dream home for their sons and a brother with Down Syndrome is being held hostage by a former caretaker exploiting legal loopholes.
Brett Flores, refusing to leave and demanding a large sum of money, has turned the Landas’ dream into a nightmare. The fact that he can delay justice through bankruptcy filings and questionable claims of squatters’ rights is a travesty.
This situation should serve as a wake-up call for lawmakers and the judiciary to address these legal loopholes and ensure that hardworking American families are not subjected to such blatant abuses of the system. The Landa family deserves to enjoy their dream home without being exploited by opportunistic individuals like Brett Flores.
Let us know what you think, please share your thoughts in the comments below.
John J
March 5, 2024 at 6:36 am
This shit is so ridiculous, the police should move them out immediately
Marcua Allen
March 5, 2024 at 7:19 am
I would have thrown him out on his ass day ONE!!
Wayne Leathers
March 5, 2024 at 7:15 am
What about ejectment?
A simple common law remittee.
Read the statute not opinions.
Donald Dellmann
March 5, 2024 at 7:37 am
Throw the guy out! At gunpoint if necessary, he’s an illegal intruder.
Don
M.I.Childs
April 10, 2024 at 8:16 am
The Landa family could move into Eric Adam’s house when he and his family leave on vacation and squat.
I’m sure this problem would disappear fast. I’m not really suggesting the Landa family actually squat on Eric Adam’s property, but just highlighting the evils of this situation and the democrat party that perpetrated
this evil.
Dr. Caligari
March 5, 2024 at 9:35 am
They probably have spent more than $100K on legal fees which they will not recover
Good Luck
March 5, 2024 at 9:56 am
I do not care what laws this guy is trying, This just should not happen. Take this guy out and put him in Jail, then he will have a place to stay. You can not just walk into somebodys house and say its mine.
edi
March 5, 2024 at 9:57 am
Take the m’fr out. He’s trespassing and should be shot.
Patricia A Anderson
March 5, 2024 at 9:58 am
Who do our laws protect? Obviously not the honest people. This is ridiculous. He needs to be physically removed.
edi
March 5, 2024 at 9:58 am
Take the m’fr out. He’s trespassing and should be shot.
Doug_S
March 5, 2024 at 2:10 pm
Wait until he leaves, enter and change the locks. Throw his personal effects out. If he’s broke he can’t afford to sue, and it will take going the courts.
Kajun Klown
March 5, 2024 at 4:46 pm
Every time I read about one of these situations, the first thought I have is why doesn’t the owner just go in and start throwing everything out along with the idiot claiming to have “rights”…. I know if I were in this situation, the only reason it would be on the news is because I would be arrested for aggravated battery and grievous bodily harm.
Fay Rolfe
May 3, 2024 at 7:38 pm
I have a similar situation and it certainly is BS My neighbor several years ago cut trees off a piece of land between our properties and had someone drag them across her lawn to dispose of them and then took me to court for damaging her lawn. What a joke/ I brought asuit against her for cutting those trees off land not belonging to her. She defaulted the court appearances and consequently the judgement should have been my favor but it was just dropped.I had been present a few years earlier when the property (Where I now reside and own) was surveyed and her father then owned her house and when survey flags were placed he came out of his barn across the street with a weapon and demanded they be removed since they clearly showed he did not own the land between the two houses. He knew that but was determined to claim it. A few years after I bought my house and contacted the surveyer who had done that survey and asked why they did nothing about the situation and he told me he spent 3 days at the county office to determine who actually owned that unassigned plot and determined that the former owner of the property had somehow not transferred that plot to either of these houses and they still owned that plot. He told me he had contacted the attorney handling the house sale writing a letter the fact of circumstances. Since one of those attorneys was my neighbors personal attorney they paid no attention proceeding with the sale with the buyer not informed of the facts. So the surveyer assisted me in getting a copy of that letter. So I proceeded to contact the prior owner and asked if they were of the mixup and they said no. I then asked what their agreement with the prior owner of my house was and they reiterated that the original agreement was for that parcel to go with my house. They sent me a statement notarized and signed to that fact and gave me a quit claim deed to the parcel. So I told the bitch next door that I owned it and she was not to put anything on it. My husband walked on it and she had him arrested for trespassing on my land. So at one of his appearances her personal lawyer (asst. DA same attorney who had received the letter from surveyer years before). He then requested we speak privately with him, even though I told him that our attorney had advised us not to talk to him he forced us to go in that room. He advised us that if I signed over that land to my neighbor the charges would be dropped. I asked him if he was blackmailing me? And proceeded to tell him to go F himself. Well I am paying taxes (16 years while she put a fence up denying me access to my own land) Have all the receipts and several copies of surveys showing she never owned the parcel and I also have a title search showing the facts are that I own it. Two years ago she got a building permit from a crooked bldg. inspector. He wouldn’t even look at my proof so now I have a suit against her and even with all my proof we are still playing games with an asshole. But like the squatter the crooks have all the rights. Where is law and order and fairness?
Linde Barrera
May 4, 2024 at 5:34 am
Sounds to me as though Brett Flores is a narcissist. He should not be allowed to get away with this.
inyoface
May 4, 2024 at 10:37 pm
Pay a guy named “Vito” to rent the “Prince room” and their problem would DISAPPEAR.