Bellevue squatter takes over multimillion dollar home

BELLEVUE, Wash. — The home may be one of the finest in the NW Bellevue waterfront neighborhood along Lake Washington Boulevard.

It is listed for sale at $6.2 million.

So attractive, police say, that a man broke into the vacant house and set up housekeeping. Bellevue police arrested the suspected squatter for trespassing.

Police say the son of the homeowners spotted a strange van inside the garage this morning.

“When they knocked on the door, a gentleman opened the door saying that it was his house,” said a Bellevue police spokesman.

Police responded in force to cut off any escape routes. The suspect surrendered peacefully.

A neighbor knew something was amiss.

“I notice they took the for sale sign down, that was kind of the first sign, cause it's still for sale,” said neighbor Tim Dillon.

“It's a little disconcerting, if you live in this area you don't expect this sort of thing to happen very frequently,” said neighbor Brad Kelley.

While in some instances a squatter can occupy a home for months, that didn’t happen here.

“We were able to determine the rightful owners of the home very quickly. And at that point whoever's inside the home had no legal right to be there,” Officer Tyler said.

There are police surveillance cameras barely a block from the house, police will look at the footage to determine when the squatter’s van first arrived.

“It's nice to know police responded as quickly as they did and I'm sure they'll get it under control,” neighbor Kelley said.

Police say burglary may be added to likely trespassing charges if anything is missing from the home.

Cox Media Group