He drove 10 hours from the San Fernando Valley and slept in his Jeep outside the home, waiting for her to leave in the morning. When she did, he went inside and installed Ring cameras throughout the property.

When she returned, he explained that he was the new tenant and that she needed to move all her stuff out. Since he was now in possession of the property, he said if she returned, he would call the police for trespassing.

She left by the end of the day.

Squatting isn’t common; most housing disputes are between landlords and tenants, in which an entirely different set of rules is in play. But for homeowners who’ve dealt with an actual squatter, the process of removing them can be arduous and costly, taking weeks or months and costing tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees.

But Shelton made it look easy. He recorded the entire encounter and published a recap on YouTube titled, “How I removed squatters in less than a day.”

The video went viral, racking up millions of views and thousands of comments. Shelton saw an opportunity.

“I just simplified it. There’s so many people asking me why we haven’t been doing this all along,” he said. “I was just fighting for my mom in the beginning, but now I’ve reinvented myself.”

And so, the Squatter Hunter was born.

Keith Moret, a commercial real estate agent with Lyon Stahl, first heard of Shelton when he appeared on a TV news segment shortly after his YouTube video went viral. Since then, he’s been sharing the story in real estate circles.

“I’m not surprised he’s getting attention,” Moret said. “So many people are frustrated with the legal system. Attorneys are expensive, and the deck feels stacked against housing providers.”

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