ANNAPOLIS, Md. (WBFF) — The takeover of a $2.3 million Bethesda home has renewed scrutiny in Annapolis, where lawmakers from both parties now acknowledge that Maryland law provides limited tools to remove squatters, leaving homeowners, financial institutions, and communities exposed for months or years.
The property, located in Bethesda’s wealthy Westlake neighborhood just outside Washington, D.C., was occupied for more than nine months by individuals with no legal claim to the home, with at least one person still inside.
During that time, overlapping civil and criminal proceedings moved slowly through the courts, underscoring what neighbors described as a system that favors delay and inaction over swift resolution…