Everyone loves going on a nice vacation, and the feeling of coming home after a long trip is usually welcoming and relaxing. But one family in Littleton, Colorado came home to an unexpected surprise. They found another couple living in their house!

In the months that the Troy and Dayna Donovan were away, a man named Alfonso Carillo decided to sell the Donovan home with false paperwork. He fabricated a document called a deed of adverse possession, and then sold the home to another couple for $5,000. The couple moved in and was surprised when the true owners returned home from their extended trip.

They walked into an unlocked door and surprised the squatters, who successfully filed a restraining order against the property owners. The story gets even worse for the Donovans when the squatters refused to leave the home. An eight month legal battle ensued and a judge issued a 48 hour eviction notice to the family living in the home.

Alfonso Carillo was a licensed agent in Colorado before having his license revoked for similar fraud in the past. Carillo has been arrested twice.

When the squatters didn’t leave, the Araphoe County Sheriff arrived to enforce the eviction, but when they were told that the squatters had filed for bankruptcy, the Sheriff would not enforce the eviction notice per bankruptcy laws.

The squatters could not afford to move and the Donovans spent months living with their two children in the basement of a family member. They were finally able to move home after the nearly year long legal battle in August, 2012.

Read more about this real estate horror story at Realtor Magazine.