# Possession 9/10ths of the law?



## carverman (Nov 8, 2010)

Where are all the CMF regulars these days? Spending your investment wealth in sunny places around the world? 

Just heard on the news of a retired Ont couple in their 70s which own a retirement mobile home in a trailer park in Texas, where they have, at least up to this winter spent the winters down there for 3 months. T
They pay the property taxes being legal owners, and any maintenance on their mobile unit.

This year however, squatters have moved in and so far the retired couple have not been successful in evicting them.
Under Texas laws, the squatters... (and I'm sure there are lots of homeless in the US these days with the economy
being so bad)..all they have to do is pay a $16 filing fee to the state for any UNOCCUPIED dwelling under the "ADVERSE POSSESSION" clause.
The squatters even had a yard sale and sold off all the couple's possession in their mobile home.

The couple have hired a lawyer down there to file a motion before the courts to see if there is still some legal way of recovering the mobile home that they bought, and so far still get the bill for the taxes!
So much for owning property on foreign soil!

and in Canada too..
<sourced from link below>
The individual not only keeps the land under his or her private control and *even overlooks the privilege of other persons and this even includes the actual owner of the property.* Incidentally, it is likely that the person undesirably occupying the property may even terminate the possession rights of the actual owner of the property. *And when this happens, the person occupying the land adversely becomes the proprietor of the property.
* <end of quote>
for more info on adverse possession (even in Canada)..read this..
http://www.uo2000.com/mortgage/adverse_possession.htm


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## dogcom (May 23, 2009)

This is why I haven't bought any real estate in the US because of all the things that can happen that you wouldn't think of. I simply don't trust the US at all from the IRS to their homeland security, property taxes, banks, laws and so on.

On the squatter issue maybe they need to rent it to someone and then maybe they could successfully evict these idiots.


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## carverman (Nov 8, 2010)

dogcom said:


> This is why I haven't bought any real estate in the US because of all the things that can happen that you wouldn't think of. I simply don't trust the US at all from the IRS to their homeland security, property taxes, banks, laws and so on.
> 
> On the squatter issue maybe t*hey need to rent it to someone and then maybe they could successfully evict these idiots*.


The US is becoming a crazy place with all this massive unemployment and it's only going to get worse. Squatters will take advantage of any laws that permit "repossession" of vacant property, so this retired couple became victims without realizing it. it's almost similar to (mining) claim jumping...where the prospector that stakes the claim and doesn't register it right away can get his claim "jumped" by anyone else that comes along.

As far as renting the mobile home..most trailer parks do not allow that.

I know that the one I stay in in the summer strictly forbids any kind of money making schemes on their property. They issue the campground rules each year on renewal of the lease and if you disobey the rules..depending on the severity of your indiscretion and the campground proprietors evaluation of you as a suitable tenant..you are either given 4 hours to pack up your belongings and LEAVE IMMEDIATELY..OR THEY CALL THE POLICE..or in the case of a minor infraction, you are given 2 to 3 chances that season and if you continue with infractions you are... more than likely history there. 

If you get to "strike 3" in the same season, the proprietor may not renew the lease next season and you
are given x amount of time to remove your trailer off the leased lot or sell it still on the leased site, or pulled off
with the proprietors' tractor and placed on the proprietors parking lot to sell..with the proprietor taking a commission of 5%.


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## praire_guy (Sep 8, 2011)

Doesn't Texas also have "castle " laws where you can shoot people dead on the spot for trespassing?

Easy solution. Remington 270. 

Seriously though this is just plain wrong. There has to be some kind of screw up somewhere. 

There are many properties owned by snow birds that are empty half the year. 

It's not right that some filth can simply move in.


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