It looks like these bums are getting their comeuppance. I have never had a problem with getting a house with no money left in it but you can’t steal a house.
http://www.khou.com/home/quatters-evicted-from-North-Texas-home-136345088.html
I’m actually having a hard time figuring out how they broke the law. I think adverse possession laws are stupid, but what they did seems legal from my limited understanding of it.
In the state of Texas the possession must be actual, open, notorious, exclusive, hostile, continuous, and uninterrupted for the applicable statutory period which is 3 years. All of these must be done close does not count. It requires notice be given and in this article notice was responded to by a charge of trespassing being given to these scumbags.
I wouldn’t call it illegal but it was a try and fail with embarrassing consequences.
Adverse possession is a valuable thing to the smooth running of the real estate world. Say I have a plot of land that is irregular in shape. I put up my fence on my land and maintain the fence and the land. Because of the odd shaped lots my fence has captured 6’ of my neighbor’s lot. After several years I pass and I go to sell my land and the survey finds that I have 6’ of my neighbors land. By adverse possession I get to sell it instead of deeding my plot plus 6’ of the adjacent plot. But to it was not intended to allow a person to steal a house.
In every state that I know of the possession must be actual, open, notorious, exclusive, hostile, continuous, and uninterrupted for the applicable statutory period which varies from state to state.
In addition you MUST pay the taxes during the above mentioned period,
anyone else stepping in and paying the taxes and you have to start over.
Adverse possession like all other real estate is not meant to give you anything for FREE…you have to earn it.
Bluemoon06…you would not get the extra six feet by adverse possession…did you also pay taxes on this six feet? You MIGHT win a case for encroachment and possesion…but that is not adverse possession…just means you have been using it for the time and no one said anything so…you might win.
The first tenet of real estate 101 is. “The courts DO NOT look with favor to those who sit upon their rights.”
In other words if the owner you are encroaching on does not complain, the courts will not complain for him.
Good Luck,