A new identity

Shelton, a California native, understands what drives some people to squat. He said he grew up practically homeless, “moving every time the rent was due.”

At 16, he started a handyman business, and in 2009 he established the United Handyman Association, a trade organization that lobbies for handyman rights. Along the way, Shelton, 56, also worked as a bouncer, where he learned how to handle situations that could turn violent.

“I took the same deescalation courses law enforcement would take,” he said.

Shelton carries a no-nonsense demeanor and sports a thick gray goatee, a San Fernando Valley version of Josh Brolin. On his website, he poses in a black baseball cap emblazoned with the words, “GET OUT.”

His first experience with a squatter was in 2019. Shelton’s father died two years prior, and his mother moved in with him while they put her Northern California home on the market.

A woman reached out about renting it — offering repairs for free rent, since she had no money — but Shelton declined. But while the home was unoccupied, the woman broke in through the back door and moved in, furniture and all, Shelton said. He started receiving calls from real estate agents planning to show the house to prospective buyers saying they couldn’t access it because people were living inside.

He called the local sheriff’s department, but according to Shelton, they said they couldn’t enter the house since it appeared to be occupied.

Hearing nightmares about the lengthy and arduous process of dragging out an eviction in court, Shelton got creative; he had his mom write up a lease making him the official tenant of the home. That way, he could legally enter the property.

“If they’re the squatter, they have rights. So if I become the squatter on a squatter, I should have rights,” he said.

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