Squatters Rights...

Godfather.

what would you do ?

http://denver.cbslocal.com/2012/07/28/s ... hpt=ju_bn6

Godfather.

Who Princess

There was a spate of this in north Texas a year or so ago. People claiming houses by adverse possession. Most of them turned out to be related by blood or marriage.

One woman whose house was taken over was in another city for cancer treatment.

I don't know what the state law says in Colorado but in Texas there is no such thing as adverse possession. The people were ultimately evicted by the sheriff's office and the DA brought charges against them. I think the worst of it (apart from having other people trash your home and sell your possessions) was how long it took to get the squatters out.

BinauralJam

"Say Hello to my little friends"

Wilds

Hindsight is nice, but here is what I would've done.

Instead of going in and taking pictures, I would have shown up with a locksmith and a small army of workers.

I would have taken out all of the squatters crap and left it on the curb.

Taken possession of my house and then when the other family returned, I WOULD HAVE FELT THREATENED AND CALLED FOR A RESTRAINING ORDER.

Let those scam artists fight from the outside.

mikepegg44

"hi, nice to meet you, now out you go."
I suppose, based on this situation, I would probably have been the one to go to jail, but they would have been thrown out of the house, either walking on their feet or landing on their head.

what a joke...

I feel like I am not getting the whole story here. there HAS to be something else to this story...

I can't imagine anyone can make a legal claim on a house where someone else is paying a mortgage.

..clearly the people there were fed a bunch a bull shit by abandoned home seller guy, but ignorance is no defense.

One thing I would not do is leave my property.



but more than likely I would have stared blankly at them and started looking for the hidden cameras and asking where Ashton Kutcher was

ComeToTX

If the squatters had legal right to be there I wonder what would have happened if they shot the owners upon returning. Is it breaking and entering? Trespassing?

Or vice versa.

Godfather.

BinauralJam wrote:

"Say Hello to my little friends"

ohhh yea.

Godfather.

hedonist

mikepegg44 wrote:

I feel like I am not getting the whole story here. there HAS to be something else to this story...

I can't imagine anyone can make a legal claim on a house where someone else is paying a mortgage.

..clearly the people there were fed a bunch a bull shit by abandoned home seller guy, but ignorance is no defense.

One thing I would not do is leave my property.

I feel this way as well - it's just so absurd to be LEGAL.

Also, I agree with Wilds' stance regarding getting a locksmith in there, pronto!

SVRDhand13

A PACE HO

I went to Pace Law School and used this acronym to remember all the elements of squatters rights

Adverse Possession = Actual, Continuous, Exclusive, Hostile, and Open

I remembered it on the bar and I still remember it now

hedonist

SVRDhand13 wrote:

A PACE HO

I went to Pace Law School and used this acronym to remember all the elements of squatters rights

Adverse Possession = Actual, Continuous, Exclusive, Hostile, and Open

I remembered it on the bar and I still remember it now

Wait - so if all of those aspects are in play, the squatter actually has a right to...squat? It's truly legal?

Seems crazy, at least as it pertains to the initial story and some others I've read.

SVRDhand13

hedonist wrote:

SVRDhand13 wrote:

A PACE HO

I went to Pace Law School and used this acronym to remember all the elements of squatters rights

Adverse Possession = Actual, Continuous, Exclusive, Hostile, and Open

I remembered it on the bar and I still remember it now

Wait - so if all of those aspects are in play, the squatter actually has a right to...squat? It's truly legal?

Seems crazy, at least as it pertains to the initial story and some others I've read.

Oh yea its totally legal. The theory is that the gov't would rather have land be used than to go to waste. In NY I think all those elements have to be present for 10 years, while in some other states it goes up to 20.

Jason P

This happened on an episode of The Simpsons.

http://simpsons.wikia.com/wiki/Bart_Carny

All you have to do is challenge the squatters to a game of ring toss, using a hula-hoop and the chimney. If they make it, you sign the deed over to them. Just get them to come outside and go first. Then right when they are throwing, yell "suckers!" and run inside and lock the door.

It's quite simple, really. :ugeek:

Who Princess

SVRDhand13 wrote:

Oh yea its totally legal. The theory is that the gov't would rather have land be used than to go to waste. In NY I think all those elements have to be present for 10 years, while in some other states it goes up to 20.

Right, the place has to be vacant a certain amount of time, correct? Years. As I posted above, the people who tried to do it in Texas went to properties that had only been vacant a few months and still claimed they had taken possession.

markin ball

Jason P wrote:

This happened on an episode of The Simpsons.

http://simpsons.wikia.com/wiki/Bart_Carny

All you have to do is challenge the squatters to a game of ring toss, using a hula-hoop and the chimney. If they make it, you sign the deed over to them. Just get them to come outside and go first. Then right when they are throwing, yell "suckers!" and run inside and lock the door.

It's quite simple, really. :ugeek:

Oh, yeah! I remember that one. Excellent legal maneuvering by Homer.

blueandwhite

Who Princess wrote:

SVRDhand13 wrote:

Oh yea its totally legal. The theory is that the gov't would rather have land be used than to go to waste. In NY I think all those elements have to be present for 10 years, while in some other states it goes up to 20.

Right, the place has to be vacant a certain amount of time, correct? Years. As I posted above, the people who tried to do it in Texas went to properties that had only been vacant a few months and still claimed they had taken possession.

I don't think the period of vacancy is relevant. In fact, if you are out of town for two weeks and squatters move in they are in adverse possession (you don't want them there). The real challenge is getting them off your land. If they are there for the required period of time, they will acquire full ownership of your property. Usually squatters rights apply to people who have placed a fence in the wrong location and have assumed a couple of feet from your property line, but in cases like this freeloaders move into your home while you're away and try to assume possession of your place. Getting them out can be a pain in the ass because they know the law and will play dirty.

These people were asked to leave but they've used the system against the original property owners to extend their hold on the home. In theory, if they could drag this out long enough they would become full owners of the property. The original owners would still be liable for the mortgage. Squatters are actually one of the reasons you ask (or pay) a neighbour to watch your home while you're absent. This is not the sort of problem anybody should be dealing with after coming home after an extended leave.

brianlux

BinauralJam wrote:

"Say Hello to my little friends"

Ha! How funny. Last night I dreamed that two skunks were in my bed room and one of them nailed me. Yikes!

That would work but then I wouldn't be able to stay in my own house with that nasty odor. I think I bring over a fifty pound sack of very well trained cock roaches.