Woman discovers person has been living underneath her house and comes face-to-face with them

A woman couldn't believe what she found beneath her house while cleaning up the outside of her house.

Owning a home comes with its own challenges, such as the mortgage, maintenance and taxes just a few of the headaches on offer, but you wouldn't expect a random person staying under your home to be a particularly common issue among home-owners.

But for one American woman, it came as a shock when she discovered that the small hatch leading to the crawlspace under her house was unlocked and open.

Naturally, she investigated and posted her findings on both Reddit and YouTube.

The hatch being unlocked was a giveaway (Reddit)

The woman is known as u/springchikun on the former social media site, and explained how she found the stranger beneath her 113-year house in a thread.

"I don't think it's been slept in super recently. It would be a serious risk for them and it's been very warm. I do think they access it to access their belongings at least weekly. The opening had no cobwebs inside as well," she began.

"Having said that, to the left [...] there were more items and a backpack. Maybe the things belong to different people who had the same idea?"

Adding that the bag had a head-shaped dent in it, she theorised if it could be a place to sleep or just storage, either way, she's was not the biggest fan of the discovery.

The Oregon-based woman continued: "In my defence, I didn't know because I struggle to hear, the house is large, and I don't spend time in that part of the house,

"I'm gone a lot. I have a day job and I restore old cemeteries as a hobby - and I'll be gone up to 12 hours a day sometimes. When I get home I'm usually exhausted and sleep hard," she revealed.

The Reddit user then shared in an update that she had left the stranger a note with some cash in the space, which may result in the person knocking on her door.

Eventually, the stranger did exactly this, as the two came face-to-face and spoke about what was going on.

Gaby occasionally slept under the house (Reddit)

"Her name is Gaby, and she's in her late 40s," she revealed.

"She said she only sleeps there occasionally, maybe once or twice a month. She said she never uses flame under there, and she mostly just keeps her things there. She apologised for not asking."

Through their conversation, the home-owner found that Gaby has issues with her mental health and cannot afford to live with someone.

Despite receiving disability support from social security, it isn't enough to afford rent and Gaby also has a criminal record, having stolen to eat in the past.

This prevents her from getting a job, and also means that she has been homeless for near three years.

"Her family knows where she is but they don't know how to help her. She has a phone they pay for," the Reddit user explained.

The woman then said that she 'contacted a friend' that helps provide people with no homes with the essentials to help Gaby.

"I gave her my phone number, put her in my car and drove her to my friend who is going to help her get food, shelter and a mental health evaluation. Fingers crossed it's the beginning of something great for her," the woman concluded.