A man said in his TikTok video that he had closed on a house only a couple of days earlier and pulled up to meet his contractor when he spotted a large U-Haul truck sitting in the driveway. He explained that his first thought was to question why the truck was there at all. The house had been empty when he bought it, he added, with nothing left inside except a few pieces of leftover construction material. The video, posted by @naepfeorst, has gained more than a million views.
He stated that he unlocked the lockbox to get the keys and walked up to the front porch, where he noticed some items he did not recognize. Once inside, he said it appeared that someone was in the process of moving in. “Looks like someone’s moving into the house I just bought,” he said in the video.
He noted that none of the boxes, bags, furniture, or other belongings had been present when he purchased the property, and he added that his contractor was on the way so they could change the locks while he tried to sort out what was happening.
Homeowner provides update on belongings and property condition
In the video, the man filmed himself outside the white two-story house before switching to a first-person view of the porch and the living room, which was filled. He described seeing white chairs, black trash bags, a blue bin, a vacuum cleaner, clothes piled on furniture, and other items scattered throughout the space.
In a follow-up TikTok video, the same man said the first clip had “kind of blew up” and that he only uses the platform to edit two videos together, so he does not usually check it afterward. He explained that he had started reading comments suggesting the situation matched a common scam in which someone rents out a property that is listed for sale.
He stated that this particular house was never listed for sale and that most of the properties he buys are never listed, because he or his team typically tracks down owners and asks them directly if they want to sell.
He claimed he was able to track down the previous sellers and asked them what was going on with the belongings and the U-Haul truck. According to the man, the seller replied that he was “just storing my stuff there.” The homeowner said there were no squatters and no scam involved, describing the previous owner as someone who had stored items in the house after the sale had already closed.
He added that he could have changed the locks right away but instead gave the seller two hours to remove everything, warning that he would change the locks and involve the police if anything remained. Surprises like these aren’t unusual for new buyers, as seen with friends who uncovered a house’s hidden past after purchasing it.
The man stated that he returned a couple of hours later and found all the items gone, with no sign that the previous owner had even been there. He called the decision “really, really dumb” but said the outcome worked out for him. He then explained that the previous owner had been trying to flip the house but could not get it sold, so he bought it for less than the original asking price and planned to turn it into a rental.
During the tour, he described the property as a small two-bedroom, one-bathroom house. He pointed out that the new carpet was already stained and said he was considering converting the dining room into a third small bedroom because it could raise the rent and because three bedrooms make more sense in the area. In the kitchen, he noted that all the cabinets were new except for one, which he planned to fix by simply replacing the door so it would match the rest.
He also highlighted what he called issues with the flip work, including a back door that rubbed against the countertop because it had not been notched properly, leaving the countertop damaged. He explained that the countertop had been set directly on the cabinets without a supporting frame, making it uneven, and said he would either replace it or build a new frame.
On a positive note, he stated that all the plumbing had been replaced with PEX throughout the house. Upstairs, he showed a decent-sized bedroom with the same carpet and white paint, a light fixture sitting on the floor instead of the ceiling, and a broken window that needed replacement, along with a bathroom that had a cheap but functional surround and fixtures. He concluded that it would not take much work to get the house ready to rent.
Viewers shared strong reactions in the comments under the original video. One person warned, “Do not leave. If they get inside you’re toast.” Another wrote, “Better get them out ASAP. Hopefully you don’t live in squatters rights state.” A commenter suggested, “Someone rented out your house. It’s a big scam in FB.”
Others urged immediate action, with one stating, “immediately get that stuff out of there and don’t leave that house until there’s new locks,” and another advising, “Call the police immediately.” One person added, “There are scams where people use your real estate ad to rent your place to other people. It happened to me once.” Similar cases have surfaced online, including one homeowner who found a scammer renting out her condo.
Published: Oct 18, 2026 12:45 pm