Posted by MikeC/TX on 11/11/12 10:53pm
Msg #443029

Not sure if this belongs here or not, but it seems relevant

My apologies in advance if this is misplaced... This has been a problem here in Tarrant County, TX, and the authorities have been cracking down hard on it recently. Doesn't seem to me like it belongs in either JP or Leisure; if I'm wrong, tell me and I'll do a mea culpa. It seems to me that notaries might get sucked into these deals and should be aware of what's going on... Tarrant County no longer accepts these affidavits, but that doesn't stop people from trying.

From the Fort Worth Star-Telegram:

A man accused of "squatting" on a $405,000 home in northeast Arlington while the homeowner was receiving cancer treatments in Houston is scheduled to go on trial this week, with a life sentence among the possible outcomes.

David Cooper, 26, of DeSoto faces life in prison on a first-degree felony charge of theft over $200,000. He also faces a charge of burglarly that carries a maximum punishment of 20 years in prison, court records show.

Jury selection was scheduled to begin Monday.

The case could turn on this question: Did Cooper plan to live at the property, which he claimed was abandoned, or was his intent to commit fraud and loot it?

An attorney for Cooper says he tapped an obscure Texas law that allows people to claim rights to abandoned or vacant properties as long they maintain the property and pay taxes on it.

In October 2011, Cooper paid $16 to file what is known as an affidavit of adverse possession with the county clerk's office, claiming ownership of the 4,320-square-foot home in the 3000 block of Forestwood Drive.

Cooper intended to live in the home, said Dallas defense attorney Deborah Goodall, who said she will offer evidence showing that he performed upkeep on the property.

"Our position is that you cannot commit burglarly" if what you are doing is filing an affidavit of adverse possession, Goodall said. "Burglarly requires you to enter and the intent is to commit another offense, such as theft."

Assistant District Attorney Steve Gebhardt was not available for comment.

A year ago, Tarrant County District Attorney Joe Shannon deemed adverse possession affidavits "fraudulent" and directed the county clerk's office not to accept them. Dozens of people had taken ownership of more than $8 million in Tarrant property.

Prosecutors will likely point to evidence that Cooper committed a crime by breaking into the Forestwood Drive home of Julie and Raymond Dell while Julie Dell was in Houston receiving chemotherapy treatments.

Arlington police said they believed that Cooper had planned to take possession of the Dells' home long before the first piece of furniture was moved. He watched for weeks to ensure that it was vacant, police said. Then, he tried to claim ownership and looted it, they said.

Some estimates found that as much as $250,000 in valuables were removed from the home, including the Dells' furniture and clothing.

The trial is scheduled for Judge Sharen Wilson's Criminal District Court No. 1.

Reply by JanetK_CA on 11/12/12 1:23am
Msg #443034

Yikes. I read something about that law before somewhere. Apparently it's happening more and more frequently to unsuspecting homeowners who may have a second home somewhere - or are away from the property for other reasons. Maybe that's why the penalty is so stiff. Pretty cold to try to steal someone's home while they're getting cancer treatment!

Reply by Marian_in_CA on 11/12/12 4:41am
Msg #443038

Yeah, that's awful... but the adverse possession laws do have their place, if used properly.They are meant for people to take over actual abandoned property or settle archaic land disputes... not property that might be "in limbo" such as in foreclosure or in probate proceedings. The problem is that a lot of them tend to be abused. IN a lot of states, taking a property through adverse possession is a long processes of 5-20 years. It doesn't just happen overnight with the filing of a single affidavit.

I can tell you that the idea of adverse possession is one that has come up in a legal discussion among myself and some of my neighbors about a house in our general neighborhood. We've done the research, reached out to the current owner... he has abandoned the place and has no interest in the property and isn't willing to work with anyone to obtain it (long...complicated story there). The circumstances are such that adverse possession may be a viable outlet... but only if done right.

The Texas story centered around that guy who happened to be more of a squatter than anything else... and sold an ebook telling others how to do it, quite badly.

It's an obscure bit of real estate law that has it's place, but, like many things, can be abused. I think this story is more about Texas tightening up the process. Lots of states have been doing that lately to prevent abuse of the process. Most of the properties that would and could still be legally and morally obtained through the process can still be done with the new provisions provided they are truly abandoned.

Reply by desktopfull on 11/12/12 4:21am
Msg #443037

This is just horrible. It seems as though our country is full of free-loaders trying to get anything they can for free. I hope TX locks this guy up for a long time, and I hope the Dell's get their property back and her chemo treatments are successful.

Reply by JanetK_CA on 11/12/12 6:07pm
Msg #443113

While I certainly agree with your good wishes in your last sentence, a few incidents don't make for a "country full of..." anything, really. These things are news because they're NOT common. In fact, I'd venture to guess that it's a very, very rare occurrence.

Reply by MikeC/TX on 11/12/12 10:54pm
Msg #443129

Actually, Janet, it was becoming common enough here in this part of Texas that the DA decided to instruct the county clerk to stop accepting ALL affidavits of adverse possession because most seemed to be fraudulent. As others have mentioned, adverse possession has a legitimate use in real estate law, but this is clearly not it. Some scammers saw what they thought was a loophole in the law and tried to take advantage of it. It took authorities a while to realize what was going on, but once they did they cracked down hard.

The guy mentioned in the article is the first of at least 8 people scheduled to go on trial for running this scam in this county alone, and additional prosecutions may be pending. His trial started today; will post an update as soon as it becomes available.

This being Texas, he's probably lucky he's only facing a possible life sentence...

Reply by JanetK_CA on 11/13/12 1:41am
Msg #443132

I don't doubt any of that. Maybe this is a little off-topic - and maybe I'm just a glass-half-full kind of person - but my point was simply that 8 people (or 80 or 800, or 8000 for that matter) out of more than 300 million people in this country still doesn't equate to "a country full of freeloaders." Particularly on a day like Veteran's Day, it seems to me that we are a country full of patriotic, courageous, hardworking, responsible folks who care about their country, their families - and their neighbors. There are always going to be exceptions.

Reply by Linda_H/FL on 11/12/12 7:39am
Msg #443042

This happened recently in Jacksonville too

Not sure whatever happened to the guy - a link to an article follows but this is not the only one. There have been a few instances in Jacksonville (I cite J'ville because that's the TV station we get - I'm sure it's happened all over the state)..there was another one in J'ville that I can't find that was, again, in foreclosure, but the bank had finally sold it - when the new owners went to move in there was this person living in their house and he wouldn't let them in!!

http://www.news4jax.com/news/-Adverse-possession-allows-people-to-take-over-abandoned-homes/-/475880/1945218/-/24fih6z/-/index.html

Reply by 101livescan on 11/12/12 7:48am
Msg #443044

Well, this is one way to acquire a home with "no money down", just pay the taxes for seven years and file the adverse possession fee. I think this will quickly disappear. In states where there are blocks and blocks of homes sitting empty, and in outlying areas where no one even visits the property for months/years, it's quite possible and probable this could occur.

I was stricken by all the homes I saw empty between Jacksonville and Ocala on my way to my father's home. Looked like no one had been around for a long time.

Reply by MW/VA on 11/12/12 8:42am
Msg #443050

"with a life sentence among the possible outcomes"!

I certainly agree that what he did was wrong, but a life sentence, really????? I think there is a big problem nationally with squatters taking over abandoned (foreclosed) homes. There are old laws on the books that allow people to make claims on properties. Didn't someone post a story like this recently, where a woman was out of the country & returned home to find someone living in her home. I think I read she's having difficulty in getting the person out. It makes me wonder who's promoting this kind of thing. I'm guessing some "shock jock" is making people aware of the "opportunity". :-(

Reply by dgd/CA on 11/12/12 9:12am
Msg #443060

In this county, the problem with an uoccupied house is more

about outright fraud than "squatting." There is an element, in any area, of unscrupulous individuals. They locate homes (normally foreclosures); literally go the clerks office to secure a certified copy of the grant deed; remove the signs; have keys made (all they need do is show the grant deed to the key maker); advertise it as a rental, and then, rent it out to the first family with enough cash to cover their advertised security deposit and first months rental, then get out of dodge. Time frame: Late Thursday afternoon to no longer than Sunday morning.

Imagine being a family that has, for whatever reason, been displaced. Finding that, upon moving in, their nightmare has continued.

In regards to the OP, adverse possession, when performed upon legally, does have its place and serves as a benefit to a community... squatting and misrepresenting unoccupied properties (or any illegal act upon a property or individual(s) ) do not.

Reply by Jennifer Jackson on 11/13/12 8:13am
Msg #443148

It is a very interesting article that is for sure. People have to be more aware of what is going on with their finances, properties, etc., because there are people out there who are trying to find loopholes to every scenario...