Squatters Settle Into Multimillion-Dollar Homes

Squatters Settle Into Multimillion-Dollar Homes

DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | TUESDAY, DECEMBER 06, 2011

Squatters are finding a loophole in a Texas state law and are moving into residences, choosing some of the priciest, most luxurious homes to settle down in.

A study by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram found that squatters have overtaken numerous suburbian homes, some valued at more than $8 million, in Tarrant County.

"It's the craziest thing how anyone could be so brazen as to just break into a home and start living in it," Tarrant County Precinct 7 Constable Clint Burgess told the Associated Press.

The state law allows squatters to claim property if no owner is on hand to challenge it. They’re targeting vacant properties where owners have died or home owners are away because of a job or even illness. In one incident in Houston, squatters threw away the owner’s belongings in a commercial garbage bin and moved in while the home owner was having chemotherapy.

“Squatters are claiming houses they insist are abandoned by filing affidavits of adverse possession with county clerks, paying a $16 filing fee, keeping current with property taxes and pledging to live in the house for at least three years,” the Associated Press reports.

Source: “Squatters Occupy $2.7 Million Mansion and Other North Texas Houses Worth More than $8 Million,” Associated Press Newswires (Dec. 4, 2011)

Man Found Squatting in $2 Million Home

Man Found Squatting in $2 Million Home

DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 01, 2011

Police are warning that squatters are getting more clever, even presenting fake deeds to try to prove ownership of a property without ever paying a dime.

A Raleigh, N.C., man was recently arrested and faces several charges for allegedly squatting for at least seven months in a home valued at nearly $2 million and filing a fake deed and paperwork with the county, according to police.

Thomas Everette Jr., 31, allegedly created a fake company--the International Fidelity Trust--and created forged documents and a false deed that he filed at the county’s Register of Deeds to transfer the home to himself at no cost, according to police reports.

The $1.9 million, 7,664-square-foot home, which fell into foreclosure last year, boasts six bedrooms, six full bathrooms, theater and game rooms, a wine cellar, elevator, and a swimming pool.

A neighbor had contacted police to report someone living in the home since February. Everette avoided arrest back in February by showing paperwork that showed him as the trustee of the property.

State Attorney General Roy Cooper recently warned city officials that a group of residents had been filing fake paperwork at the county’s Register of Deeds office trying to claim ownership of at least six foreclosed homes.

Source: “Man Accused of Being a Squatter in N. Raleigh; $2 Million Home, No Money Down,” The News & Observer (Aug. 31, 2011)

Couple Found Squatting in Upscale Foreclosure

Daily Real Estate News | January 7, 2011

Couple Found Squatting in Upscale Foreclosure 

An Orange County, Calif., couple has been arrested on charges stemming from squatting in a foreclosed home in a luxurious Newport Beach neighborhood, city prosecutors say. The couple squatted for more than three months before they were discovered, authorities say.

Chis Wayne Duncan, 42, and Robin Ann Duncan, 36, face charges of second-degree burglary, among other charges.

Prosecutors say the couple hired a private investigator to locate foreclosed and vacant homes in Orange County. They then had fake leases drafted so utility companies would change utility bills to put it under their name as renters, authorities say. After an appraiser tried to enter the home, prosecutors say the couple had the locks changed.

Source: “DA: Couple Squatted in Ritzy Newport Beach Foreclosure, Put Utilities in Their Name,” Associated Press (Jan. 6, 2011) 

I think it's crazy that they got away with it for so long! I just had to share this story with you!

- Ashley