Philly homeowner forced to pay $1200 ransom to squatters after city says it could take a YEAR to evict them

Only after forking over the ransom did 35-year-old Chris Harte finally get them to leave, putting an end to the weeks-long saga.

According to FOX29, on Dec. 8 Harte's real estate agent received a phone call from one of his neighbors who claimed that people had moved into the recently renovated home and removed the for sale sign out front.

Harte immediately called the police, who paid a visit to his home and discovered the aforementioned people trying to replace the locks on the front door. When officers asked them what was going on, they claimed to be renting the property, and thus legally there was nothing law enforcement could do.

In an interview with Fox News, Harte explained that he returned to his home with the police the following morning, but once again the squatters emerged victorious.

"I had all my paperwork, purchase and sale agreement, homeowner's insurance, the deed to the home, everything," he said. "[The police] said it didn't matter."

Harte was told that the new residents had "squatters' rights" and thus he had to file a landlord-tenant agreement if he wanted to kick them out. Authorities added that it would cost $300 to request an eviction, a process that could take up to a year.

"Squatters' rights … it's like an oxymoron," Harte quipped. "If I walk into a store and steal a bottle of water, they have me on camera, they're going to take me to jail, but somebody can break into my house, change the locks and now they have rights?"

Eventually, the squatters said they had found a new place to live, but informed Harte that he would have to pay them $2,000 to leave. They settled on $1,200, but with the cleaning that was required after they departed, the whole incident ended up costing Harte an estimated $2,000.