Florida Couple Famous for Over-the-Top Christmas Light Display Revealed to Be Squatters

[Eugene]

Source: People

Florida Couple Famous for Over-the-Top Christmas Light Display Revealed to Be Squatters

An investigation by the Broward County Property Appraiser’s office concluded the pair has been living in the home illegally for 15 years

By Antonia DeBianchi Published on December 1, 2023 08:30AM EST

A South Florida home known for its over-the-top Christmas lights was revealed to have been illegally occupied for almost two decades, an investigation found.

Kathy Hyatt, a realtor, and her ex-husband Mark, who died in 2020, allegedly “squatted” in the Plantation, Florida, home for 15 years, according to legal documents obtained by PEOPLE from the Broward County Property Appraiser’s investigation. Per the report, there was never a title on the property and it had a “forged deed.”

The Appraiser’s office dubbed the investigation “The Nightmare Before Christmas” as the Hyatts were known for going all out with their holiday decorations, covering the house in thousands of colored string lights, festive figures and large glowing lawn ornaments, earning it the nickname the “Hyatt Extreme Christmas” house. Even that caused some conflicts with neighbors and the city of Plantation over the years.

"There were some legal issues and complaints between the city of plantation and the Hyatts that stemmed from the Christmas lights situation,” Vivian Gallinal, Crimes Against Property Investigator at the appraiser’s office, tells PEOPLE.

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Read more: https://people.com/christmas-house-squatters-florida-couple-hyatt-extreme-light-display-8409321

[FakeNoose]

1. Screenshot

From OP link:



Holy shit! What a nightmare ....

[Marcus IM]

2. I live close by. Was a nightmare for their neighborhood.

The Plantation police had to set up a perimeter on each end of the street. Idiots would just park their cars in the middle of the street blocking it. Or the neighbors couldn't get to their house or use their driveways or easement there were so many gawkers. Plus the usual garbage tossed on the ground by these x-mas visitors. Lots of angry confrontations requiring police intervention at all hours on the night. It was a real clusterpuck.

[mopinko]

3. that pic belongs in the dictionary next to

the word chutzpah.
can u imagine the stones?

[Chellee]

4. 15 years.

They were in that house illegally for 15 years. What I don't understand is if you're breaking the law, and getting away with it, why would you draw such attention to yourself? He died before he got caught. She probably could have lived the rest of her life, and never been caught if only she hadn't decided to inflict this chaos on her neighbors.

[SergeStorms]

8. It's Florida. 😊

Things stop making sense the second you cross the border.

[Wonder Why]

11. It's Florida. Need one say more?

[OAITW r.2.0]

5. How much space would these decorations take up? Probably rented a suite of storage spaces to accommadate.

Insane on so many levels...

[SergeStorms]

7. They probably....

squatted in another home just to store all of the christmas decorations.

[SergeStorms]

6. Electricity rates in Florida.....

are astronomical. They had to choose: pay a mortgage, or pay the electricity bill. You can't do both in Florida, obviously.

[Chellee]

9. The next news story will probably...

be "Famous FL couple with OTP Xmas display hasn't paid electrical bill in more than a decade. We don't know how this happened, says Broward County electrical company."

[SergeStorms]

10. Is the house....

called Mar-ma-lardo? These certainly sound like a deadbeat family we all know and despise. 😉