A new home purchase has turned into a nightmare for a New York couple after they were unable to move in due to an unwanted guest refusing to leave the premises. 

Rochester homeowners Ryan Folts and his girlfriend Caitlin Pitts told News 8 they bought the home at an auction last January that was in foreclosure and knew it was occupied when they bought it. But they didn’t know the terror they would face.

“I offered him $500 a month [to let the squatter stay in the house], and he told me that if I came back, he was going to take my life,” Folts explained to News 8.

Folts said he and Pitts had even gone through all the “red tape” of trying to get the man out of the house and still had no luck. 

Leka Devatha, a landlord, discusses the moment she confronted squatters.  (Leka Devatha )

“We’re staying every night in a hotel because we thought we were going to have somewhere to go. We’re paying for a storage unit, paying for a hotel every night and it’s been going on a month. It’s not fun,” Pitts said. “We have a target on our back now, and why, when we’ve done everything right?”

With the lockout date well past due, Folts and Pitts said they aren’t sure where to turn next.

“I think what needs to be done from here on out is we need help. We need help from the public, whoever is willing to help,” Pitts said. “We’re citizens of this community. We pay taxes. He’s living for free. He has mental health issues. So, like I said, a mental health professional should be here. He’s burglarizing. He’s trespassing. He’s threatening people. … He needs to go.”

The couple said that if they are unable to get the squatter out, they do not see themselves ever moving into the home.

“I don’t see us ever living here, because I feel as though there would definitely be a target on our back, and it would be way too dangerous. And we would never be able to relax. So, we’re just going to try and sell it at some point, if we can even do that,” Folts said.

Stepheny Price is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business. Story tips and ideas can be sent to stepheny.price@fox.com