Adverse Possession Help!!!
Greetings,
I have my eye on a nice little abandoned house. I did some work for the neighbor and she said the owner died 5 years ago and it's been vacant for 3 years. I am considering a hostile take over.
In Tennessee, the required duration of adverse possession to attain ownership is seven (7) years for someone claiming under color of title and twenty (20) years for someone without color of title. (Tennessee Code Annotated (T.C.A.) 28-2-101 onward.)
"Color of title" means there is a document giving the appearance of title, but which document is not legally valid. The document appearing to convey title in fee must be recorded in the register’s office for the full seven year term. (T.C.A. 28-2-101(b))
Can anyone explain what this means? How do I record this document? How do I acquire this document?
Please help!
Anthony
In spite of a long thread I read elsewhere on TCI adverse possession is almost impossible to actually achieve. That said you are more than welcome to try.
Here's where you start. Go over to the house, change the locks start cleaning up. One of the rules of adverse posession is that your possession of the land must be blatant. Some people recomend putting a for sale or for rent sign on the property with your phone number. If some guy with a shotgun shows upasking how come your trying to sell his house that he inherited from his dead grandma (god bless her soul) talk fast, apologize profusely and offer to buy it or not but your adverse possession deal just took a nose dive..
Simultaneously you go down to the recorders office and check the title. See if the dead lady was actually in title, see if she left a will, see who handled the estate in probate. 90% of the time this will lead you to somebody who is now the title holder of the land. Make them an offer and buy it. This is not adverse possession but it does get you the land.
Occasionally the title will be so screwed up that its not clear who owns it. Go find any relative of the dead lady and get them to give you a quit claim deed to any interest they might have in the property. That's the document you record. Go pay the property taxes or buy them (depending on local law and custom). No point in loosing your adverse possession suit to some tax buyer.
So now you have possession (changed locks and moved in) under color of law (a quitclaim from a relative who may or may not have any interest in the property) hope the shotgun toting relative doesn't return from his vacation in outer slovenia for 7 years, file suit to quiet title and you are home free.
Meanwhile file suit based on the deliquent property taxes you bought and you'll end up with title sooner.
[quote]
On 2004-06-29 23:10, commercialking wrote:
In spite of a long thread I read elsewhere on TCI adverse possession is almost impossible to actually achieve. That said you are more than welcome to try.
Here's where you start. Go over to the house, change the locks start cleaning up. One of the rules of adverse posession is that your possession of the land must be blatant. Some people recomend putting a for sale or for rent sign on the property with your phone number. If some guy with a shotgun shows upasking how come your trying to sell his house that he inherited from his dead grandma (god bless her soul) talk fast, apologize profusely and offer to buy it or not but your adverse possession deal just took a nose dive..
Simultaneously you go down to the recorders office and check the title. See if the dead lady was actually in title, see if she left a will, see who handled the estate in probate. 90% of the time this will lead you to somebody who is now the title holder of the land. Make them an offer and buy it. This is not adverse possession but it does get you the land.
Occasionally the title will be so screwed up that its not clear who owns it. Go find any relative of the dead lady and get them to give you a quit claim deed to any interest they might have in the property. That's the document you record. Go pay the property taxes or buy them (depending on local law and custom). No point in loosing your adverse possession suit to some tax buyer.
So now you have possession (changed locks and moved in) under color of law (a quitclaim from a relative who may or may not have any interest in the property) hope the shotgun toting relative doesn't return from his vacation in outer slovenia for 7 years, file suit to quiet title and you are home free.
Meanwhile file suit based on the deliquent property taxes you bought and you'll end up with title sooner.
I just read something on an attorney's website. He said there must be innocents, and there is a difference between squatting and adverse possession. Would I likely be prosecuted???
Yes, if somebody finds you taking over their house without their permission you can bet they are going to cause a stink. Tresspassing charges are one of the possibilities. As is breaking and entering. The fellow with a shotgun who believes in solving his problems outside of court was not only a joke
I told you it was difficult.[ Edited by commercialking on Date 06/30/2004 ]
I think I'll try to find the heir. I have a bad feeling about trespassing.
This is the typical "Get Something for NOthing" mentality. Frequently peoples brain stops working when they think about getting something for nothing especially if it makes them rich...
There are a few other issues such as trespass that could be brought to bear, fraud also comes to mind if you lie and claim possession of something you do not own. Additionally if within the statutory period the owner gives permision, denies permission, or asserts ownership in any way you are out of there. You may be held liable for damages from the heirs or owners. At the very least you have an unmarketable title that will have to be quieted by a judge that doesn't mind the fact that Joe Blow the Ragman thought he could pick up some property for nothing by squatting on it and telling people he was the owner when he wasn't.
If there are no legal heirs it will frequently escheat to the state and you cannot adverse possess state land.
This might be possible and I repeat might but I question the ethics involved, whatever you do do it iwtih integrity..
_________________
"Chance favors the prepared mind..."[ Edited by Stockpro99 on Date 06/30/2004 ]
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