This is in Flower Mound, Texas
This is in Flower Mound, Texas
Send him the tax bill.
I don’t see the down side...good on him for being well-informed.
“Mr Robinson used the obscure law ‘adverse possession’,....”
Adverse possession ... AKA “squatters’ rights”.
The law’s the law.
The law is the law but if I was the county I would sure send him the tax bill.
Smart guy; way to go!
I have no problem with this whatsoever, and good for him. I wish we had something similar in Germany, but what the heck; for that, I’m willing to settle in Texas.
Adverse possession laws vary by state.
In Arkansas, a claim for adverse possession can only take place after you’ve resided on and maintained the property for seven years. Full documentation of residence and maintenance is also required.
Now what if the original owner had a relative who assumed occupancy of the house then signed the title over to the former owner? Hmmmmm
This clown is another Obamamite who has committed a criminal act. He should use this knowledge he has to get a home the right way.
I'll wager he's a convicted felon.
Something for nothing.
Can one be sued and removed for not keeping the upscale property in an appropriate upscale condition?
Awesome.
I’m very curious about his address.
The county owns the house,He must pay the “rent/Taxes” no such thing as “ownership”!
LOL.
Texas Property law is pretty interesting. Adverse Possession kinda works in reverse too. In Texas if you own a piece of residential real estate or undeveloped property - with or without a structure and you own it with another person (non spouse) it is called Tenants in Common. This is just two people - not a commercial interest or business partnership. Anyway - if one of the co-tenants fails to uphold his or her financial contributions to pay for the property for a significant period of time (several years) then the paying co-tenant can file a petition to repudiate the ownership rights of the non contributing co-tenant. This is not a lawsuit per se... just a legally published notice. If it goes unchallenged via a lawsuit by the non paying co-tenant within certain period of time... the title is changed to show ownership by the paying co-tenant alone.
It's one of the first things a first-year law student learns about in Property Law.
As always, from the news reports on a legal issue it is impossible to understand all the facts.
As a Texas land title lawyer, there are several types of adverse possession, and it is not an “obscure law.” Depending on whether he obtained a written document of title, pays taxes, uses and possesses the property, title by adverse possession can become vested in as little as 3 years and as much as 25 years of actual possession.
I would say the record owner of this house could bring eviction proceedings immediately and get this guy out.
Lots of mixed reactions on this thread. My initial reaction was “Good for him!”, but my amended reaction is “This ain’t over by a long shot, now that it’s hit the news.”
I wouldn’t be surprised if this is the impetus for new (or amended) legislation about adverse possession in Texas and elsewhere.
But if anyone else is claiming ownership rights to the house they should offer Mr. Robinson some walking away money to avoid a protracted court battle. 10% to 15% of the appraised value should work nicely.
This whole story reeks of BS! Why would the owner of the house abandon the property because his mortgage company went bankrupt. I could see it if the owner went bankrupt. If MY mortgage company went bankrupt I would in fat city because I wouldn’t have to send payments in and who would kick me out as long as I paid the county taxes? Total BS.