BiggerPockets

hi, im new to the real estate market as well, but from what i gather it kind of sounds like a tax lein, however moving into property you do not own sounds a little fishy..lol

i would like to know as well though..

here yeah go, i did a search,

The length of time required for adverse possession in title varies - it could be as short as a few years or could run for twenty years or more. Typically public entities must establish a longer period of possession than individuals. Some states have adopted a rule which requires the adverse possessor to pay taxes each year on the land.

The possession must be open for all to see.

The possession must be exclusive to him or her (e.g., the fence in the above example, a driveway, road, etc.)

The possession must be hostile to the actual owner of the land.

To gain title to land through adverse possession requires strict compliance with the law, but can have dramatic impact upon land ownership rights.

An encroachment could result in title to your property being transferred to an adverse possessor. Under these circumstances, you might have to bring a lawsuit for trespass in order to prevent your neighbor from getting title to your land through adverse possession.

If you own land, it is important that you do not "sleep on your rights" since you could lose ownership of the land.

it doesnt sound like it would probably work in too many cases..

Okay - I'll spell it out:

Adverse posession is a method of acquiring the title to someone else's property by occupying the property against the rightful owner's rights.

According to Wikipedia , "Adverse possession requires the actual, visible, hostile, notorious, exclusive, and continuous possession of the property, and some jurisdictions further require the possession to be made under a claim of title or a claim of right."

Basically, this is essentially squatting, except in the end, one can actually gain title through adverse posession. There are various requirements for gaining title, and they do vary across states. A few requirements include: a) the person must pay taxes on the property for consecutive years, b) the person must use the property for an uninterrupted, continuous period of time (varies by state), c) the person must be in posession of the property openly (not hiding or secretly posessing it), d) the person must have some kind of claim for the title.

Given that the proper conditions are met for the state that the property resides in, a person can actually squat on another's property and gain it through adverse posession.

Hope that helps.....

Hey skelly,

You would have to research each state's laws. Here in PA its 21 years. Now that's some long term investing.

Good Luck,

NavyDoc