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Texas man snags $330,000 home for $16 after researching obscure law online
PICS of the house ---> http://www.tecca.com/news/2011/07/22...se-possession/
They say you can find anything on the internet, and for one Texas man, it proved true. Kenneth Robinson used an obscure Texas law he researched online called adverse possession, and used it to obtain property rights to a $330,000 home. His cost? Just $16 for the court fee to file the paperwork he printed off from the web.
The home, located in Flower Mound, Texas, was abandoned by its previous owner after being foreclosed upon. The mortgage company then went out of business due to the failing economy. This opened the door for Robinson, who used the little-known law to effectively take possession of the house.
The Adverse Possession law states that unless the original owner repays the massive mortgage amount to the bank — and then the bank files papers to have Robinson evicted — the home and chunk of land it sits on is his. After 3 years of remaining in the home, Robinson can petition the court for the deed, officially sealing the deal.
Robinson, a former real estate agent himself, spent months online researching the complicated law and searching for the perfect instance to which it could be applied. Once the found the pristine abode in Flower Mound, he printed the necessary forms and filed them at the local courthouse, much to the dismay of his new neighbors.
The rest of the high-dollar homeowners on the street have taken exception to Robinson's manipulation of the system and have tried on multiple occasions to have him evicted. Unfortunately for them, home ownership is a civil matter, meaning local law enforcement is absolutely powerless to remove him from the premises.
It's unclear what, if any, legal action could be taken against Robinson at this point, and it appears that the law is on his side. But would you even want to live in a nearly free home if everyone else in the community were out to get you? We're not sure we would.
Rudeness is the weak person's imitation of strength.
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10-12-2011 12:13 PM
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I would. I dont care what the neighbors say. Finally John Q Public found a law to benefit himself.
Me
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Better to have someone living in the home ... keeping it maintained and livable then having it fall to pieces.... The neighbors are just annoyed they didn't do this themselves.
Laissez les bon temps rouler! 
Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.** a 4 day work week & sex slaves ~ I say Tyt for PRESIDENT! 
Not to be taken internally, literally or seriously ....Suki ebaynni IS THAT BETTER ?
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I guarantee that before the 3 years are up the owner of the former mortgage company will claim the house and have him evicted - especially since he couldn't keep his mouth shut and went bragging to the media. There is no such thing as a "free lunch".
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What's to stop someone else (some strangers) from living there with him. If the law can't evict him, they can't evict the strangers either. 
Seems like the property is taken care of. Nice house, jealous neighbors, it wasn't their property nor investment neither.
Mrs Pepperpot is a lady who always copes with the tricky situations that she finds herself in....
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If the original owners could afford to claim it, they would not have walked away to begin with. The only ones who can stop it, in my opinion, would be whatever company buys the debt of the old mortgage company, that is now defunct. As long as this man has papers stating he can be there, then no one can infringe on his rights. As long as he pays the taxes, utilities and such, it is his. Illinois has a similar law but I think you must live in the house for 20 years before it becomes yours.
Me
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WOW, can't wait for this informercial to come out!
Going Off the Grid!
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Originally Posted by
hblueeyes
If the original owners could afford to claim it, they would not have walked away to begin with. The only ones who can stop it, in my opinion, would be whatever company buys the debt of the old mortgage company, that is now defunct. As long as this man has papers stating he can be there, then no one can infringe on his rights. As long as he pays the taxes, utilities and such, it is his. Illinois has a similar law but I think you must live in the house for 20 years before it becomes yours.
Me
That is why I said I bet it doesn't become his since the owner of the mortgage company still had a claim on the house and they can wait until the last day of the 3 years and have him booted. They have a similar law in all states it varies by how long you have to live there. I know someone that tried this in Orlando (much less expensive house like $ 30,000.00) and he got evicted with 3 days to go before it was "his". It does happen but 99% of the time they let them stay and pay for the upkeep of the property and then boot them at the last minute.
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First of all... he doesn't live there. He put a few pieces of junkie furniture in the living room so he could file the papers (which is all that's required)... but there's no water or elec, so no one lives there. Nor is he the one that went to the media... the pissed off neighbors did. I don't know when he filed the papers, but I guess we'll find out eventually if he gets to keep it or not... but there are soooo many abandoned houses around here... I doubt he's the only one... he's just the only one who got told on.
Ok... after looking around more, he is actually living in the house now... lights and water are on.
http://www.pegasusnews.com/news/2011...ng-his-rights/
Last edited by justme23; 10-17-2011 at 08:42 AM.
Lord, keep your arm around my shoulder and your hand over my mouth.
An 'eye for an eye' leaves the whole world blind. -Mahatma Gandhi
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Originally Posted by
justme23
First of all... he doesn't live there. He put a few pieces of junkie furniture in the living room so he could file the papers (which is all that's required)... but there's no water or elec, so no one lives there. Nor is he the one that went to the media... the pissed off neighbors did. I don't know when he filed the papers, but I guess we'll find out eventually if he gets to keep it or not... but there are soooo many abandoned houses around here... I doubt he's the only one... he's just the only one who got told on.
Ok... after looking around more, he is actually living in the house now... lights and water are on.
http://www.pegasusnews.com/news/2011...ng-his-rights/
That is part of the requirement to get the house is that you actually have to live there and pay for the upkeep. These are not obscure laws but there are lots of requirements for it to become yours by doing this. It is the people around that reported it that didn't read all the requirements of the law not just fill out a paper and pay a small fee and get a expensive house. It sounds great until you really do the investigating into all the nuances of the law and realize that after everything you have to do and hoops to jump through that in the end you might end up being booted out by the actual "owner" of the property.
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