During the wave of foreclosures in the late 2000's, squatters were fairly common.   They would often run out the back door when you banged on the front door.  

     I haven't seen a squatter in a long time.

   It goes without saying that if you encounter a squatter in a vacant house, draw your weapon with one hand, and dial 911 with the other.

I just call Tony and Suzanne Marriott, Associate Brokers  and sic Sam on em.  3:)
Actually, yes we have had squatters to contend with . . .  AZ is the wrong state to stake a claim in such fashion. Attorney and Sheriff usually make fairly quick work of it . . .

We have typically seen squatters in rental property who over stay their lease and don't pay their rent.  This takes eviction by the sheriff. 

I think if you are  buying a property in another state to rent out, you will have bigger problems than a squatter...

Eve

My first question is why do you want to own a property in another state ? It's awfully hard to see if squatters are living in one of your properties ? I have dealt with squatters in REO properties and have paid them to move out which in the industry is called "cash for key" . I have also had to deal with squatters return to the property after receiving "cash for key". 

Listing and selling REO for 30 years, i have dealt with my fair share of squatters. In the old days it was easy, strangely enough, i encounter more now than ever before. It depends on the police, here if i find them, i get them removed on the spot or arrested for trespassing. I report it as a break in. To ward off this habit, i check my vacant listings usually Monday and Fridays. I meet the neighbors and tell them no one should be there, some wont call the police but will call me. For homes i buy, i check before closing and wont close if anyone is in them. 

I have not encountered squatters in residential. We did have a squatter on a piece of town owned land. The police handled the situation

A while back on remote acreage/land we discovered somebody had setup camp and had been living there for some time. We did get them off before the land went up for sale. Authorities did get involved. We had one other guy who hadn't made a house payment in 4 years - can you imagine that. The day of eviction his wife had no idea of what was going on.....how she didn't know is beyond me. They got moved, locks were changed and I never say them again. But Again - authorities were involved.

Thankfully not... and not looking to do so anytime soon.

Chainsaws with a partial choke on, the blue smoke and high pitch sound is one highly illegal way to remove and evict the squatter, tenants, varmits.

Calista Goff - I have never seen one. Fred Griffin has the great suggestion on what to do.

I'm with Fred Griffin on this one.  Squatters have been a thing of the past (knock on wood) since the early 2000s.  Sadly, they have rights which really, really sucks... but this is California where criminals have more rights than law abiding citizens and we vote to make violent crimes like rape a "non-event."  But hey, we got those damn plastic bags outlawed!

I have not - thankfully - but, Fred Griffin's given you some great advice!

I have persoanlly twice!

I consider myself an expert on this subject now LOL

I had one y years ago and Smith and Wesson sent them packing

Ugh! Good luck.

Best advice I have had or given to others, include language in the contract that it is the seller's responsibility to evict tenants or squatters and leave the property in 'broom-clean condition, free of trash & debris.' 

Be wary of the law in the state where you are acquiring property. In some states and courts the squatter has more rights than the owner, always at the owner's expense!

Depending on your local laws and regulations, they can be difficult to evict. You need to assure the security of the property.

Big problem if not handled locally and correctly as well as directly too. In most cases, if they squatted so can anyone (ponder) meaning they have no rights over other squatters. Many ways to handle this both legally (expensive) and otherwise (ponder) but be aware you are dealing with a nothing to lose mentality. I just handled something similar successfully and have done this for decades. Too much to go into here so either hire-up or get involved directly

Hire the neighbor pay them a fee to watch. Often retirees do not mind.

Once you have it go to court for unlawful ... you are doomed.

 You should become familiar with the Utah property code.  Will tell you all you need to know about the evection process.  To answer you question I have no personal dealings with squatters.

I have not in all my years in real estate, thankfully.

I have to agree with Mike & Eve Alexander --- you may want to reconsider your decision to buy your first buy-and-hold property in another state.    

Not personally...knock on wood. But as a community, we were all aware of one within the City. It took over 2 years to get rid of the individual.

Yes, it could have been a disaster since the police quoted their usual response, "that's a civil matter".

But I found out they were on probation, claimed me as their landlord and had an impostor talk to their parole officer.

A few hours later they were led out in handcuffs and took up residence in the local jail.

Yes. Don't worry about " what ifs'. Squatters are rare and usually move on when they see activity around the house. If you ever feel threatened, call police. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/26/us/arlington-virginia-attic-homeless.html

We call Sam...

I haven't run into any, thankfully.

I have and I promptly dealt with them Or shall I say my employees did.

Wow , you have to let us know how it goes for you.

No but I used to have some interesting BPO encounters after the meltdown.

When I dealt with REO listings I had to deal with squatters several times. I told several to leave, threatened them with the police if they were to come back and boarded up the access areas. That seemed to work every time.

Get familiar with your local landlord tenant Act and make sure you do everything by the book @cal

In your situation, being a remote owner, you should consider hiring a propery management company who has the needed resources of evicting and securing the real estate.