A renowned poker champion is grappling with a nightmarish ordeal after discovering that a French squatter had set up camp in her $1.9 million Airbnb property in California and then refused to vacate the premises.
Wendy Weissman, aged 60, is now embroiled in a difficult fight to evict the unwelcome occupant from her picturesque townhouse located in Hermosa Beach.
Identified by Weissman as French national Evhan Lamarck, the guest initially arranged to rent the luxurious $12,500-a-month property for 48 days but ceased payments midway through his stay.
The saga is further complicated by California’s relaxed occupancy laws, which granted Lamarck tenancy rights after living in the home for a mere 30 days, thereby hindering any immediate eviction efforts.
Upon reaching out to law enforcement, Weissman was informed that the matter falls under civil jurisdiction and would need to be addressed through the courts—a process that could drag on for six months.
Her nightmare only came to an end when a huge water leak forced Lamarck to allow Weissman into the property.
Once inside she found her gorgeous rental completely trashed, with cigarette butts piled high, damage to her closet from a suspected break-in attempt and trash and dirty linen strewn everywhere.
When confronted by a reporter from ABC7, Lamarck arrogantly defended his right to be in the property.
Wendy Weissman, 60, was thrown into every homeowner’s nightmare after a squatter moved into her Airbnb
She accused Frenchman Evhan Lamarck of refusing to leave her $1.9 million Hermosa Beach townhouse
When she finally got inside she found the property in disarray, with cigarette butts piled high as well as damage to her closet and dirty linen strewn everywhere
When asked if he thought it was ‘fair’ to remain at the rental without paying, Lamarck scoffed: ‘Yeah it’s really fair.’
‘He just refused to leave,’ Weissman said. ‘It’s squatting. It’s definitely squatting.’
Weissman said that problems arose when his rental period came to a close and she did not receive a further payment.
She said that Lamarck told her that he had lost his credit card and had to remain in the Airbnb until he got a new one.
Facing the prospect of losing out on around $70,000 in rental income plus astronomic court costs, Weissman took to social media in an attempt to name and shame Lamarck, who still refused to move.
A break in the situation came when a neighbor reported that water was gushing out of the Airbnb which constituted an emergency and granted Weissman the necessary permission to enter.
‘I first sent him the video and when he did not respond I called the police,’ she explained. ‘The police would not go in and the squatter tried to tell me that he was not aware of the flood he caused.
‘I did not give up and eventually told him that I would have a plumber come over and if deemed a hazard I would shut off the water.’
Weissman got a break in the case after water damage (pictured) which constituted an emergency meant she was allowed to enter the home
The situation appears to have spooked Lamarck, who was seen packing up into a U-Haul van shortly after Weissman resolved the issue.
Surveillance footage showed Lamarck loading up the vehicle with help from a woman before she places a towel over the camera to obscure it.
Adding insult to injury, Weissman said that Lamarck was allowed to leave her a negative review following his stay which remained live for several days while she tried desperately to remove it.
Weissman is now warning others of the dangers of renting in the Golden State, which were exacerbated for her due to specific rules in Hermosa Beach that forbid short term lets of less than 30 days.
‘Booking it on Airbnb with the lax eviction laws in California – they just get away with it,’ Weissman told ABC7.
She also hit out at Airbnb for what she described as a lackluster response.
Lamarck vacated the property swiftly after the water incident
Further horrors awaited Weissman inside including backed-up toilets and damage to her closet from a suspected break-in attempt
Weissman rents out the townhouse for $12,500 per month and faced losing up to $70,000 in rental income if she went through the courts
‘Airbnb did like the absolute minimum. I mean, they said: “Call your local law enforcement,”‘ she said.
Airbnb said in a statement to ABC7: ‘Issues like this on Airbnb are very rare. In this case, we are in contact with the host and have removed the guest from our platform.’
The Daily Mail has reached out to Weissman and Airbnb for comment.