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Adverse possession
- Thread starter BladeoftheImmortal
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They're not abandoned vacant housing, they're houses up for sale that nobody lives in because they're still on the market. Often new constructions, not rundown neglected property. Although I admit I do enjoy the image of a bunch of homeless people living it up in a brand new McMansion full of stage furniture while frustrated realtors repeatedly call the thoroughly uninterested LAPD.
OP is this you?
His possession lasted only 8 months, he would have been full owner if he made it 3 years. His neighbors would have still had a problem if he paid for it outright. Nosy assholes.
His possession lasted only 8 months, he would have been full owner if he made it 3 years. His neighbors would have still had a problem if he paid for it outright. Nosy assholes.
Lol nothing infantile about it. Adults wrote adverse possession laws.
The Sovereign Citizen movement is basically some Qanon-level nonsense with no legal basis. Adverse possession, though rarely successful, is a viable legal doctrine in many jurisdictions.
I recall several law school cases from Puerto Rico just to give you a flavor of how it works. I don't recall the details but it went something like:
In the late 19th century (yep, we're going there) up in the mountains (that time forgot) the father "bought" the house and didnt add it to the registry. The seller's son and the buyer's son (the second generation) got into a bitchfight (the sort of family feud that happens in small towns in the middle of nowhere) and the question was whether the father had good or bad faith and whether you could add the buyer's son years living the house to the adverse possession years (30). The case was decided sometime in the 1950s.
So you can see how adverse possession works in the context of a rural society about a 100 years ago and it took two generations to make it happen. It made perfect sense way back then. But you can never get away with it in the 21st century.
In the late 19th century (yep, we're going there) up in the mountains (that time forgot) the father "bought" the house and didnt add it to the registry. The seller's son and the buyer's son (the second generation) got into a bitchfight (the sort of family feud that happens in small towns in the middle of nowhere) and the question was whether the father had good or bad faith and whether you could add the buyer's son years living the house to the adverse possession years (30). The case was decided sometime in the 1950s.
So you can see how adverse possession works in the context of a rural society about a 100 years ago and it took two generations to make it happen. It made perfect sense way back then. But you can never get away with it in the 21st century.
Adults also wrote civil forfeiture law. Doesn't make it any less bullshit to steal from people.
It makes perfect sense in rural, pre- electricity, poor paperwork societies.
That's fair, it just doesn't have much of a place in the modern world.
Another 20 years of overseas investors pouring dirty money into UK properties they've never even seen a photo of let alone visited, and I'm sure these laws will be needed again.
It's not stealing from people when the banks forclose and haven't been able to sell the property. That brother in TX in the YouTube video I posted was only trying to get what he's owed from the FHA.
Heh, I'm a lawyer (but I am NOT advising you to do this).
I'm just remembering from law school how this one of everyone's favorite topics. Every time we saw an abandoned building, we always thought of how to "adversely posses it."
"Remember, for it to be openly hostile, you need to cut the grass and let the dog poop in the yard at least once a week!" lol
In a world where avoidable homelessness is permitted to fester and speculation on the property market is lawful, I think it has a place.
The public policy behind it is that we want land to actually be used, not just sit idle. Iirc from Property class.
Yep. Having people actually living in a property and caring whether the roof leaks or rats infest it turns out to be good for society in general.
I'm not a lawyer, but I work in title. The laws vary, but the general concept is that must you just be living there "openly", and you must be paying for the upkeep of the home(i.e taxes among other items), etc. The chances of pulling it off are pretty low, but doable. Historically the most common cases of adverse possession actually working are involving an owner dying while someone else is also living in the home, but there cases of what you described working as well. If your plan is to break in and change the locks, don't get caught.
If the property is city or government owned you cannot take ownership through adverse possession iirc, but in the case of something like that you may be able to contact them and work on a deal beforehand. I would say your first step is to figure out who owns the building, and if taxes are being paid on it. If the taxes are being paid by someone you're not going to be able to possess it regardless of what you do.
If the property is city or government owned you cannot take ownership through adverse possession iirc, but in the case of something like that you may be able to contact them and work on a deal beforehand. I would say your first step is to figure out who owns the building, and if taxes are being paid on it. If the taxes are being paid by someone you're not going to be able to possess it regardless of what you do.
Remember what happened to those guys that were on the land John Marston wanted to own. Be careful.
We'd have so many fewer threads to enjoy if people on here did that, though...
Here (Quebec), you have to act in good faith, i.e. truly believe it's yours. It usually only works when someone puts its fence a few feet inside his neighbour's yard by error and no one notices.
What you're trying to do wouldn't fly. But the law changes from one jurisdiction to another so who knows.
What you're trying to do wouldn't fly. But the law changes from one jurisdiction to another so who knows.
Well, going by dog law, all you have to do is pee on something and it becomes your territory.
I would try that.
I would try that.
Nothing. That's why it really only works with abandoned properties.
You can't not pay taxes. For adverse possession to work you have to be open and notorious about it. You have to pay taxes. You have to pay utilities. You have to get mail there.
If you do it in secret, it is not adverse and the clock never runs.
I'm losing my shit at the idea of trying to somehow evict a squatter so you can take their place. Makes me think I accidentally clicked on Something Awful
OP
OP
By that logic you could take my car because it's out in the lot and no one is there. Also you could take someone's project car out of their driveway while they're on vacation because no one is there. Lets go raid storage facilities, it's legal because no one is there.
OP
OP
We're pretty far out of town. I could see It as someone had autopay utilities on the property and died on vacation or something and it's just perpetually being paid for out of a bank account no one uses. I'm telling you there's been no activity at that house for 5 months and an abandoned car is at the house too that hasn't moved once since I've been here.
OP
OP
Well, storage facilities are sold off if abandoned.. that's actually a bad example. And I'd say yes I could take your car if I see it sitting there rusting for 1 year and is never used.
Property taxes are a big issue here. If someone else is still paying them, you don't have a shot. If no one is paying them and you start, you better hope you get the ten years in (assuming that's the number for adverse possession in your state) because if you are booted in year nine and have been paying taxes that whole time you may not get any of that money back. If no one else is paying taxes and you decide not to pay them either, then the property will go to tax foreclosure sale in the near future and you will be booted.
The difference is that unlike cars, housing is a very limited and essential resource. You are not at risk of dying of exposure when you don't have a car.
OP will be the victim when this plan blows up in their face
If you left that car out there for quite a long time, let's say several years i'd say yeah? That would probably happen and i'd not really consider it stealing.
Storage facilities obviously don't count as abandoned. Seeing as you have to be there for 10 years to actually own it i'd definitely not call it stealing. I don't think it's something i'd recommended but would definitely not call it stealing either.
People are reacting as if OP is squatting on a home where the owner is just away for a day lol. If the home is truly abandoned I see no issue with it. I also think 10 years is quite a long time and it's not likely to work out for OP though.
I need to find an abandoned home in a scenic, rural area to take possession of. I want a vacation home, but I'm not wealthy enough yet to afford a 2nd mortgage.
OP is talking about a place where someone is paying power bills. That change anything?
There are stories that pop up from time to time. But I think often if you follow up on it and see if it actually panned out for them, often times you'll find that it didn't. I remember one story years ago that made some national headlines and just now decided to see how the story ended:
Lights are on and a car in the driveway.
Sounds like someone owns it and the entire reason for the lights and he car is so people think someone is home, that way someone doesn't break in.
What is the reason for this idea anyways? Trying to snatch a house for cheap?
Sounds like someone owns it and the entire reason for the lights and he car is so people think someone is home, that way someone doesn't break in.
What is the reason for this idea anyways? Trying to snatch a house for cheap?
I think adverse possession is used more in property disputes, not outright taking of property. Like if I built a fence over my property line into a neighbor's lot that is unused, maintained it, mowed the land, planted trees, etc for years and years. But then the lot is sold and my neighbor wants to tear the fence down. Something like that. Or maybe mineral or timber rights, that sort of thing. I know it applies to squatting, but that seems too brazen to get away with for a decade plus.
In Arkansas you only have to live in, maintain, and pay taxes for a period of 7 years. And there are A LOT of cool abandoned homes in the Ozarks.
Hmm...
Hmm...
True enough. 5 months is also too short to say it's truly been abandoned.
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