‘It’s heartbreaking’: Residents of this small California city were left furious after a fleet of about 70 RVs was illegally parked near their homes — here’s what happened

Wildomar homeowners heartbroken by arrival of RVs

The saga of these Black Series RVs doesn’t start in Wildomar. Instead, they first popped onto the public’s radar back in 2024. At that point, they were parked in the city of Industry, where they attracted squatters.

The squatters reportedly wreaked havoc on the RVs and the surrounding neighborhood. Wildomar residents didn’t want their neighborhood to experience the same issues.

“I don’t want to see this turn into the city of Industry. I don’t want to see people in there and I don’t particularly want a fire, that’s the biggest scare because we are very dry out here,” Lynne Mayes, a Wildomar resident for over 40 years, said in an interview with NBC4. “We have one fire truck here, this is a small town.”

Mayes continued, “Just because we are wide open and rural, it’s not a welcome sign.”

Invest in real estate without the headache of being a landlord

Imagine owning a portfolio of thousands of well-managed single family rentals or a collection of cutting-edge industrial warehouses. You can now gain access to a $1B portfolio of income-producing real estate assets designed to deliver long-term growth from the comforts of your couch.

The best part? You don’t have to be a millionaire and can start investing in minutes.

Learn More

Homeowners bear the hidden costs

Although the residents of Wildomar didn’t witness squatters moving into the vacant RVs, the threat of a city of Industry situation repeating itself is unnerving.

When RV encampments show up in any neighborhood, the homeowners face indirect financial consequences.

First off, an ongoing presence of RV squatters in a neighborhood will likely pull property values down. After all, potential homebuyers likely don’t want to purchase a house near a volatile situation like a homeless encampment.

Beyond falling property values, homeowners may feel the need to spend more money on security. For example, they might opt to install an alarm system or build a sturdy fence to protect their property.

Additionally, homeless encampments may also lead to increased insurance premiums. After all, insurance companies price policies based on risk. Insurers might raise premiums for nearby homeowners if there is a higher risk of fire or crime in a particular area due to an encampment. Los Angeles property owners were dropped by insurance companies or saw their rates skyrocket for this reason, according to a 2019 report from NBC4.

For many homeowners, an RV squatting community showing up on their doorstep could lead to serious financial consequences. Although it’s difficult for individuals to protect their property from this risk, actively involving your local government could protect your entire community. If the local government has the right rules on the books and makes the effort to enforce those rules, squatters in RVs won’t be allowed to wreak havoc on your neighborhood’s property values.