A vacant multimillion-dollar mansion in the Hollywood Hills played host to a group of squatters earlier this year, including a person who created a fake lease agreement, a woman who claimed to be making content for her OnlyFans page, and a French bulldog. Real estate agents Emily Randall-Smith and her husband, Tyler Smith, had planned to prepare the home for an open house Jan.
The security box where the agents had kept a key was broken open, and a new mailbox had been placed out front. Just before Christmas, the couple had shown the property to potential buyers. Then it sat vacant for a few weeks. The home is listed on Airbnb and is fully furnished, including kitchenware, said Randall-Smith, who recently shared her story of the ordeal on Instagram.
Smith peered through a window and spotted a man lying down on a bed in one of the bedrooms. When officers knocked on the door, however, nobody answered. Last year, an Airbnb guest at a luxury studio in Brentwood refused to check out after her scheduled stay ended.
Officers walked around the property and used the speaker on their police cruiser to order anyone in the home to come out, Randall-Smith said. The homeowner told Randall-Smith that they did not want police to break down the front door to check for squatters.
This time, Randall-Smith said, a woman answered the door. She said she was renting a room from a man and produced what she said was a lease agreement. The apparent squatters had stocked up the refrigerator. There was a meal cooking when police arrived, Randall-Smith said. Police helped escort the woman โ who was the only person there at the time โ out of the home along with her dog, Randall-Smith said.
