Have you visited your vacation home or any investment properties you might have lately? It might sound strange or even silly, but it's definitely worth checking out on a regular basis to see if the property still remains vacant or, in the alternative, that the tenants who were supposed to move out last month actually did move out. If not, or in the event you find someone occupying your vacant property, you have what is known as a squatter. Here's how to deal with the issue.
By obtaining a title in real estate without paying or compensating the actual property owner, squatter's rights are created. Adverse possession is the blanket under which squatter's rights fall. Adverse possession laws kick in when an individual person or, in some cases, a business physically takes possession of property in a way that conflicts with the rights of the property's true owner.
As a squatter, certain criteria need to be met in order to establish their rights in that regard. You as a homeowner should know these requirements so you can counteract them better if this situation happens to you.
The first thing a squatter must do is retain actual possession of the property for a time that is mandated by the statute of the state in which the property is located. This is a period of seven to fifteen years in most states. As opposed to just having a token verbal claim, actual possession requires a physical presence on the property. The second criteria requires open and notorious use by the squatter on the property. It strengthens the true landowner's claim that the squatter did not meet the requirement that the property be used openly and notoriously if no one sees a squatter using the property. Exclusive use of the property must also be established by the squatter. The squatter must appear to be the real and true owner by acting in accordance with that belief and excluding other people from the property. If the squatter uses the property in a way that implies he or she is some kind of agent or was given permission by the true owner, the squatter can no longer retain their claim to the property. The property must lastly be used in a continuous and uninterrupted manner.
All of these requirements must be met in order to establish squatter's rights, otherwise known as adverse possession. If you are the true property owner and are dealing with a squatter or holdover tenant on your land, it is absolutely essential to know the requirements to establish title by way of squatter's rights so you can counter the actions and ultimately retain title to your land.
By obtaining a title in real estate without paying or compensating the actual property owner, squatter's rights are created. Adverse possession is the blanket under which squatter's rights fall. Adverse possession laws kick in when an individual person or, in some cases, a business physically takes possession of property in a way that conflicts with the rights of the property's true owner.
As a squatter, certain criteria need to be met in order to establish their rights in that regard. You as a homeowner should know these requirements so you can counteract them better if this situation happens to you.
The first thing a squatter must do is retain actual possession of the property for a time that is mandated by the statute of the state in which the property is located. This is a period of seven to fifteen years in most states. As opposed to just having a token verbal claim, actual possession requires a physical presence on the property. The second criteria requires open and notorious use by the squatter on the property. It strengthens the true landowner's claim that the squatter did not meet the requirement that the property be used openly and notoriously if no one sees a squatter using the property. Exclusive use of the property must also be established by the squatter. The squatter must appear to be the real and true owner by acting in accordance with that belief and excluding other people from the property. If the squatter uses the property in a way that implies he or she is some kind of agent or was given permission by the true owner, the squatter can no longer retain their claim to the property. The property must lastly be used in a continuous and uninterrupted manner.
All of these requirements must be met in order to establish squatter's rights, otherwise known as adverse possession. If you are the true property owner and are dealing with a squatter or holdover tenant on your land, it is absolutely essential to know the requirements to establish title by way of squatter's rights so you can counter the actions and ultimately retain title to your land.
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