The neighbors are outraged, but the Texas resident says his takeover is legal and will eventually give him title to the suburban Dallas home.
“We all dream of scoring a great deal on a house. But a $330,000 house for $16?
Kenneth Robinson of the Dallas suburb of Flower Mound, Texas, says he sealed just such a deal, taking over a vacant house by simply moving in and paying $16 to file documents with the court claiming ownership.
“This is not a normal process, but it is not a process that is not known,” he told WFAA-TV in Dallas. “It’s just not known to everybody.”
Robinson said he invested months in research to find the house. The property had been in foreclosure for more than a year, and the owner walked away. In the meantime, the lender that held the mortgage went out of business.
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To squat or not: Can you take over the abandoned home next door?
Robinson says he can take legal title to the house after he lives there for three years through a provision in the law called “adverse possession.” Exactly how that works varies state to state.
This is how WFAA explains the situation:
… Robinson said just by setting up camp in the living room, Texas law gives him exclusive negotiating rights with the original owner. If the owner wants him out, he would have to pay off his massive mortgage debt and the bank would have to file a complicated lawsuit.
Robinson believes because of the cost, neither is likely. The law says if he stays in the house, after three years he can ask the court for the title.”