Tried house "squatting"?

I realize even discussing this topic can be a bit dangerous...you never know who is watching/reading this stuff, but has anyone here tried "squatting" or staying in a house when payments were no longer made to a mortgage company?

In my case, I think there's an empty house that the banks MAY be carrying on their books, that a homeowner just "walked away from" and it has started to get an abandoned look to it that isn't doing the rest of the properties in the area much good.

We had a big local news story a few months ago about a guy who was renting out these houses even tho he wasn't an owner or connected to a bank.

I have an idea about possibly moving into this property (I have a rental property next door to it) mostly because I've about had it with my apartment and can't afford the kind of place I want at the moment.

http://www.pressherald.com/business/florida-squatters-use-archaic-law-to-occupy-vacant-homes_2010-06-18.html

I'd read up on squatter's rights.

Criminal Trespass could get you even a better deal of "three hots and a cot"

Also, Florida is one of few states with felony trespass. I think I'd at least check out the tax records and find out if it's bank owned. I'd rather not get caught squatting in bank-owned property.

A safer bet would be to lowball the bank. If the property is looking bad, no one will buy it, so they will be happy to take a loss.

I've squatted, but not in the house. Ew.

Watch out for the poison ivy.

Squatting takes YEARS before you gain any rights into the property. And if the police find you there it is a criminal offense.

when i was 18 and 19 i did it ove the winters because i had no where else to go i stayed at peoples summer cottages.

Most of those "adverse possession" laws were written years ago about abandoned rural properties. IIRC, during the era of the US expansion into the western half of the continent (19th century?), and based upon English "Common Law" that is even older. The premise is that it's better for structures to be maintained rather than abandoned, and if the "original" owner never returns, you've earned the right to keep it just because you kept it from rotting back into the Earth.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adverse_possession

Of course, since banks are more important than people, there is no way that a squatter will be awarded possession of an abandoned property. The banks merely pretend that they've never abandoned a place, even when all the windows are shattered and the weeds are six feet high in the yard.

I personally think that things are so bad that I'd support the squatters in my neighborhood (they mow the lawn on the abandoned property they're squatting in a lot more often than the bank's Field Service clowns, and they actually try to seal up the windows when the weather turns cold), but I don't think they'd have a legal case. I'm wishing you well, but if you're just considering it to make some money when "the real estate market comes back" (ROFL!), I don't think you'll see much success.

YMMV, as always..

I believe adverse possession requires that the legal owners get a chance to reclaim the house. If the bank is the legal owner, you're SOL.

Portland Press Herald In theory, vacant houses can also be taken through adverse possession, if the seven-year window passes and the property owner makes no attempt to pay the taxes or liens -- an unlikely scenario, especially when a bank is laying claim through foreclosure, property experts say.

I'd say if any bank fails to pay taxes on a foreclosed house and makes no attempt to evict a squatter for seven years, they deserve to lose it. This only seems to be possible for a bank run by a bunch of drunken lemurs, but I wouldn't put that past Bank of America...

I'd say if any bank fails to pay taxes on a foreclosed house and makes no attempt to evict a squatter for seven years, they deserve to lose it. This only seems to be possible for a bank run by a bunch of drunken lemurs, but I wouldn't put that past Bank of America...

Amen.

Does this really sound like a good idea to you? Jeez.

integraguy wrote: I have an idea about possibly moving into this property (I have a rental property next door to it) mostly because I've about had it with my apartment and can't afford the kind of place I want at the moment.

Camp in the back yard of your rental?

I wouldn't. I don't know your jurisdiction, but around here sometimes people try that, and they have stuff in the house, meanwhile it as been foreclosed and title to the property is in the Bank or their REO department (subsidiary of the Bank with a different name). They evict the occupants or it is surrendered in a Bankruptcy, so when the REO comes they assume your stuff is the abandoned property of the previous owner or the tenant and it is disposed of.

Your state may also have a redemption period post foreclosure where the debtor can buy back the property, in my area it can be as long as a year. During that time, preparing the house for resale will not take place. There could also be environmental issues in the property you aren't aware of and it is holding things up.

There are people who rent these properties, its quite the scam. Its also criminal, not to mention civil fraud.

Also, in my experience the best time to get a good deal is a short sale pre-foreclsoure as opposed to buying from the Bank. The Banks may be holding a lot of properties, but they still have many more in which they have a security interest in, and do not want to contribute to declining values by wholesaling or liquidating their inventory. They are also regulated, and they need to realize as much relief as possible on the debt through the resale.

Its different when the debtor is in default but still owns the house, and the bank has the lien plus the note. Then they might agree to release the kien for less than the full debt, but the debtor in exchange may sign a new note for the deficiency or they can sue for a judgment, either way.

Then there's the whole issue of "Where in the berkeley would I ever get the idea that I deserved a free place to live at someone else's expense?" Seriously. Did your parents not raise you any better than that? Sorry if this is some kind of joke that I'm not finding the humor in.

Bank fraud.........convenient short answer, but almost totally wrong, for the screw up when applied to the "housing crisis". But it makes a good story headline and since most people don't read the complete story anymore or do ANY research on their own it falls under the category if you say something often enough then it becomes real.

but that girl that's told she's pretty at 2 a.m. when the bar starts to close is still ugly as sin no matter how many times she's the last one standing at closing time.

mguar wrote: The house is empty.. sleeping/staying in it won't damage it (at least if he's careful) and might save it from vandals.. If he mows the lawn and keeps it up the bank will be better off than just leaving it empty. Nobody suffers and he might be able to get ahead a bit..It's also possible he'll save enough to put a down payment on the property..

Heh, maybe he'll also borrow your car without your knowledge during the 20 or so hours a day you're not in it?

A young guy that worked for me here in Florida tried this very thing by squatting in a foreclosed house. 2-3 weeks after he moved in, they arrested him and gave him every day of 10 months in the pokey. If you don't like jail, you might want to rethink things.

mguar wrote: In reply to poopshovel: He's not saying he deserves anything free.. Like many others he's a victim of the banking fraud crisis.. There are consequences for action.. The banks committed fraud. Ruined the economy and now own a lot of empty property. Don't think for a minute that the bank owning an empty house doesn't cost you something even if you don't live anywhere near that place.. The bank writes off that loss on the taxes thus shifting the tax burden to you and other middle class people paying taxes.. The house is empty.. sleeping/staying in it won't damage it (at least if he's careful) and might save it from vandals.. If he mows the lawn and keeps it up the bank will be better off than just leaving it empty. Nobody suffers and he might be able to get ahead a bit..It's also possible he'll save enough to put a down payment on the property..

He's renting an apartment currently.

He's not a "victim" of bank fraud.

I can't even begin to comprehend how you arrived at that conclusion.

In reply to mguar:

Even if your alleged "bank fraud" claims are true, I'm frankly a little tired of hearing about them.

You can't flounder every thread on the same tired issue.

We get it. You are unhappy with the banks, and you are pretty sure you are smarter than the rest of us on this issue.

It makes no difference. Trying to steal someone's property, or live in it for free illegally is a crime, regardless of how unhappy anyone is.

Squatting is illegal. It's not the same thing as Homesteading.

The ideas expressed in this thread are a major fail.

I guess now is the time, (perhaps I'm overdue?) to fill in a few details:

This house, like I said, is right next door to mine. On this particular block, it is the only house that is abandoned LOOKING. There may be other empty houses on my block, but someone is keeping those properties "up" if they are. If I go a few more blocks in any direction, I do find other houses with yards that have not been mown in weeks/months?...I figure those are empty, too.

I know where the former owner of the house next to mine is. She left it 3 years ago. The story her "friends" tell me is that she "signed over" her house to a church in Ca. The understanding she SUPPOSEDLY had with the church is that she would be allowed to remain in her house for free in exchange for making her house a "charitable donation". The church was/is? bogus....this woman was cheated out of her house. This is where I mention that the owner was in her late '80s at the time.

I have come to SUSPECT that the woman MAY not have been bilked out of her house, but instead abandoned it because her property taxes were becoming too high to pay. BUT, I have to say, that is a theory, a guess. To avoid embarrassment to the former owner, I have not pressed her for details. We have tried to get her interested in taking legal recourse against the (now defunct?) church/individuals who took her house...she won't get involved/interested. She also says, that as much as she would like to, she is not interested in going back to her old house. (She has ...I don't know, sort of ended that chapter of her life, I guess.)

It was my original thought to stop the blight next door to my own property. Yeah, HOW SELFISH OF ME? Then I thought, if I am maintaining this property for someone or a bank, maybe I should get something for my efforts. Florida is on the edge, at the moment, of a drought zone, but still, even though corn won't grow "as tall as an elephant's eye" here, grass...thanks to nearly daily showers recently, is now several FEET high on this property. Tall grass anywhere, attracts vermin and when vermin have shelter, they start looking for food....like in my property next door.

FINALLY, I basically wanted to hear other folks experiences. YES, I know squatting is illegal, so is speeding. Yet, I'll guess that at least a few of the "holier than thou" folks who posted on this thread do speed. Just like more than a few of the angry posters here probably wouldn't think there is anything wrong with buying a car that a seller has no idea is a collector's item at a "bargain price.

Yes, there is more to this "story", I have left a few details out to spare the folks involved. Please just post on experiences...DON'T PREACH OR EDITORIALIZE.

Since it is next door to your property why don't you just mow the lawn every few weeks to keep it looking more presentable?