When robbing a house, the usual process is to break in, clean up, and get out. Once you have made good your escape, you proceed to try to sell the loot.

But that was last century, and this is the digital age.

A man in Washington State, US, returned home earlier this month to discover even the burglars are going high tech, and this one certainly wasn’t in any hurry to flee the scene of the crime.

View photos Police are now hunting for this man. Photo: CCTV More

That was until Ed Saurs arrived back at his Puyallup property on September 1, only to receive a knock on the door from a stranger.

“The man said to me, 'I’m here for the microwave.' And I said, 'Well, no, you’re not. This is my house and I’m not selling anything,'" Saurs said.

"So I walked around the corner, and I saw that my appliances were gone."

View photos The brazen squatter sold appliances large and small on Craigslist. Photo: Supplied More

According to Mr Saurs, he then heard footsteps and witnessed a man leaving quickly through his backdoor and across his yard.

The escape was caught on a neighbour’s security cameras.

Mr Saurs then discovered that the home invader was no ordinary burglar. He had moved into the house and lived there for at least several days while he sold off the contents piece by piece on an online classifieds site.

The prospective microwave buyer showed Mr Saurs a series of advertisements on Craigslist and other online marketplaces offering his property for sale.

View photos Ed Saurs was confronted originally by a man who answering an ad to buy his microwave before he discovered the crime. Photo: Supplied More

A washer and dryer, refrigerator, a stove and even his mattress had been hawked while the property was unattended.

The equipment was valued at about $7000.

"The money is not the issue," Mr Saurs said. "It's the violation; the fact that someone would come in and have a yard sale right out of my front door."

Mr Saurs had recently vacated the property and intended to sell it. He discovered the unwanted and enterprising tenant upon returning to check on the property.

News break - September 10