Posted on 07/20/2011 11:19:26 AM PDT by Do Not Make Fun Of His Ears
If someone you knew claimed to have bought a new house for $16, you'd probably expect it to be a rundown hovel.
But for Kenneth Robinson, that princely sum could see him as the new owner of a $300,000 home in an well-manicured part of Flower Mound, Texas.
On June 17, Mr Robinson took advantage of a little known Texas law to move into the abandoned home.
The house had been in foreclosure for more than a year and its owner walked away. Then, the mortgage company went bust.
After months of research, Mr Robinson used the obscure law 'adverse possession', filled out some paperwork costing just $16, and moved some of his belongings into the home.
Under the law, if someone moves into an abandoned home they have exclusive negotiating rights with the original owner.
If the owner wants them to leave, they have to pay off the mortgage debt on the home and the bank has to file a complicated lawsuit to get them evicted.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
To whom was your “you post like a nOOb” directed?
Really only one important question,
what was the name of the mortgage company that went bankrupt in this case?
Seems there must be a good number of similar properties in Texas and other states with similar adverse possession laws.
There are a huge number of original mortgage documents that have been lost to warehouse space or shredders. CHain of custody problems could lead to this mortgage written by a now defunct mortgage company, improperly pooled into a CMBS and sold to a thrid party, and the third party then sold the CMBS garbage to a TBTF bank at discount, the TBTF bank then sold the CMBS at face value to the Fed window....
meaning there is no one in the country who cares about this property.
I’m 100% sure that is the case with at least 800,000 mortgages sitting on the Fed balance sheet.
To the nOOb.
I didn’t care for his comments toward you and I like your postings.
LOL
Now that’s funny.
Nice house! Way to go, fella!
It’s a public interest issue from way back when. It doesn’t serve the public interest to have houses throughout the city that are unoccupied, unkempt and rotting away. We had one like this in our neighborhood, tall grass to attract snakes and a back deck that collapsed one day on its own.
Thus adverse possession laws. If someone with a claim actually wants the house, this forces them to assert the claim and get it occupied. If they don’t care, then someone who obviously wants the property gets to have it.
You're right, this doesn't even fit the concept of adverse possession.
I think someone SNITCHED on him.
I live around the corner from this house and just found out about him squatting there Monday night. He does not hold the title right now. There are many conditions he has to meet and anyone/entity that does hold the title can have him evicted. Its not going to happen over night.
People are searching to find out who/what ended up with the asset when the mortgage co went belly up.
The O administration put a hold on lots of foreclosures and this is what happens... no one knows who actually owns what now and these ‘something for nothing’ types move on in. :(
This battle is being waged all over the country.
For someone to live in this heat with no elect or water is miserable. I can think of only 2 reasons someone couldn’t or wouldn’t get water and elect turned on at this property.
That house isn’t worth any $300. No maintenance has been done for over a year. The pool is shot and nearly everyone in this neighborhood has to get new roofs from the storms that have come through here since spring. How’s he gonna pay for all that when he can’t even get water and power turned on?
There’s HOA dues, and taxes too. hmmm. If he can’t/won’t get utilities turned on how or why would he pay those things?
There is a pool on the property that hasn’t been taken care of in over a year. That’s got to be NASTY. What’s he doing with his own bodily waste?
He says he ‘found’ the key.. hahaha.. There was a realtor’s lock box on the door this spring as well as a realtor’s sign in the yard. hmmm. found the key my -—!
Psst...If there's a lock box on it...there's something "active" going on. Realtors don't leave lock boxes behind.
Bet he's got a record.
99% if you own an Uzi ;-)
OK, Sold!
$15, and I'll even pay in Canadian funds! :-)
There’s HOA dues, and taxes too. hmmm. If he can’t/won’t get utilities turned on how or why would he pay those things?
There is a pool on the property that hasn’t been taken care of in over a year. That’s got to be NASTY. What’s he doing with his own bodily waste?
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He has some bills to pay that’s for sure ... as to the practical aspects ,, a single can of motor oil will smother all the mosquito larvae in the pool ,, the pool is also currently the source of water for the toilet ,, a 5 gallon bucket dumped in the toilet flushes real good.
The pool can be fixed up easily ,, drain , powerwash , spray with bleach and copper fungicide, patch all bad/rough marcite , refill , new cartridge or DE powder ,, at most you’re looking at $500 ... the problem with the pool is electricity and chemicals (and know how if you’re not good with them)...
If it were me I’d go with water and power ,, keep one room cool with a window A/C ... if you’re real cheap we have $10/month health clubs where I’m at that have showers... you could live on very little with his cost basis..
>>There is a pool on the property that hasn’t been taken care of in over a year. That’s got to be NASTY. What’s he doing with his own bodily waste?<<
That’s where the local health department can (and most likely will) get involved. He’s got a lot of hurdles to overcome.
I think you may be thinking of a prescriptive easement.
The Town should be able to catch him on several ordinances.
Ummm, No. They have all the normal property owner's rights. All the legal owner has to do is EXERCISE those rights, showing up to the door, and telling the guy to move, or any number of things... would do it. Or posting a "no trespassing" sign, ANY sign they care about the property...and showed up, would nullify this guy's right to the old English law of "adverse possession."
This is a many hundreds of years old legal principle, serving the public good, which makes for not having abandoned unused property--by owners who don't care to exercise ownership.
If you have a field, for example, next to my farm, and, I let my cattle onto your field, WITHOUT YOUR PERMISSION, but, you were in a position to know (ie. the cattle were there all the time, not secretly) AND you never objected, never showed up, and never walked across the field, never put up any sign or fence or repair or a change of any kind...then voila, over a set period of time set in law, (3 years in this guy's case) the land legally can become mine. (I actually know of a field where this happened (not to me!), in pricey Loudoun County, Va.)
Most of the states (all except Louisiana?) have it, as it is very old law, inherited from English law, and a pretty good principle (not allowing functionally abandoned real-estate) for the public good. This is especially relevant to America, where most of the land ownership originally involved squatters of some kind...
This is also where we get the very old saying, “possession is 9/10s of the law...”
I used to have a Real Estate license, and I recall first learning of this surprising law...and reacting against it. However when you really think about it, it’s a good thing.
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