The story of the two (possibly Russian) brothers, Maksym and Denys Pashanin, who've been squatting in one San Francisco woman's Palm Springs condo since late May has finally come to a close and they left the place basically spotless, sneaking out in the dead of night.
Condo owner Cory Tschogl tells the Desert Sun she's emotionally drained by the whole experience, but she inspected the unit Wednesday and says, "There was no crazy damages. Everything was actually kind of in order. So it was like, anti-climatic."
Legally, the Pashanins may have been able to stay put for several more months before the sheriff came knocking, so Tschogl credits the media attention and Airbnb's help with finally "smoking" the guys out in under three months.
Tschogl's well publicized ordeal began in early July when, after the Brothers Pashanin paid for the first 30 days of their stay in her Airbnb rental, they stopped paying for the remainder of their stay that began on May 25 and started lodging tenant-like complaints about the water quality. After a nationwide media uproar, it came to light that the Pashanins, both video game designers who've been in this country for a number of years, had been up to this squatting game before, at least once in San Francisco in 2012, and had evictions papers served to them then.
Also, Maksym Pashanin, in response to haters posting comments on a Kickstarter page for the video game he and his brother are allegedly working on and for which they successfully raked in $40,000 from unwitting fools posted a brazen statement in July saying "10/10, would squat again." His attitude, and his track record, suggest that this departure may have been planned all along, and they were intent on getting two months free rent before moving on to the next con.
Tschogl says she'd still use Airbnb as a guest, but she's still not sure if she'll be using the service again to rent her condo. She says that despite the company's slow response to her problem back in July (which was why she went to the press), "they really kind of came through in the end." In addition to hiring a special investigator who helped alert Tschogl that the Pashanins had fled earlier this week, Airbnb was covering legal costs associated with the case.
Suffice it to say, Maksym Pashanin probably won't be using Airbnb anymore.
In related news, the San Francisco Business Times has some words of advice on protecting your home from "sharing economy squatters." Because yes, that is now a thing.
[Desert Sun]
[SF Business Times]
Previously: Airbnb Host Seeks Help In Evicting Squatter From Palm Springs Home
Airbnb Squatters Are Seasoned Scam Artists, Squatted In S.F. Before