In reply to integraguy:
OK, then it looks like you've heard all there is to hear. KATYB has weighed in.
But don't assume people who have never done it are not smart enough to offer you some wisdom. There may be a few of us who researched it carefully and decided it was a not too bright idea, therefore didn't do it.
If you don't want people's opinions, I suggest you go ahead and try it.
Then YOU will be able to post ALL ABOUT your experiences, no matter how the story ends.
All property in the US has an owner, and owners rights are protected by law.
If you believe the property owner no longer has an interest in it, contact them and make a deal.
It's pretty simple. I've done it several times.
I think it is likely you are half correct. It does not sound to me like she got "bilked". Sounds to me like she set up some form of a Retained Life Estate. It is likely she donated the house to the charity (and received the appropriate tax deduction), then received back a Life Estate from them. If so, ownership is sketchy if the charity no longer exists.
It could be owned by her until death, when it would revert (irrevocably) to the charity. Even if they do not exist, their assets are owned by someone, and would revert to the (new) legal rightful owner at her death.
In reply to mguar:
Neither of your examples sound like adverse possession (squatting).
A hospital garnishing assets for non payment of debt is a court ordered process.
Sounds like your janitor friend purchased property in tax foreclosure, a process generally facilitated by the Sheriff.
Neither involves criminal trespass. Squatting does.
Anti-stance wrote:
I designate you as one of our elite cadre of troll hunters.
If you think you've spotted one, hit the '!' a few times
Can i play too? (About to spam that button.)
Integraguy: So cut the damned grass. I've done it. My deadbeat neighbors next door abandoned their house long before it was the cool thing to do, and the guy down the street and I cut the grass for a year so it didn't look like a bunch of riff-raff lived on our street. It's called "protecting your investment." You ARE getting something out of it; no rats, and no berkeleying parasite "squatters" setting up a methlab in your neighborhood.
It's a moral issue. Going 10 mph over the speed limit and moving into a house that doesn't belong to you are not the same thing. The legal consequences are irrelevant. You don't take something that doesn't belong to you. You know that.
When we moved out here to the ranch in '98, it looked like we sat on 10 acres, empty fields on either side of us. Chuck mowed all of it to keep the vermin population down, took him a few hours even on the Turf Leper with a 58" deck. We got nothing in the way of monetary gains, just a nice looking place and a LOT less vermin. Now, there's houses everywhere. Thankfully they are all inhabited at the moment by nice peeps. 
2¢: I say, if you want it to look kept-up, then just keep it up. When you start looking for more than that you may end up with heartache for your efforts.
EastCoastMojo wrote: Now, there's houses everywhere. Thankfully they are all inhabited at the moment by nice peeps.
Including the guy in the Jag who stole your paper? 
JoeyM wrote:Anti-stance wrote:I designate you as one of our elite cadre of troll hunters.
Even better: Just don't respond 
Curmudgeon wrote:EastCoastMojo wrote: Now, there's houses everywhere. Thankfully they are all inhabited at the moment by nice peeps.Including the guy in the Jag who stole your paper?
No one has seen the Jag since, so I can only assume he was not "from around here".
In reply to EastCoastMojo:
He was just squatting over night and needed a paper on his way out. If you aren't gonna pay rent, why pay for the paper. You obviously weren't using it right then.
That sounds like a Lifetime channel made for TV movie.
It was a cold world, that just needed a warm touch. "Not Without my Farmhouse", Staring Meredith Baxter Berny.
As a landlord, my answers to squatters are as follows:
Your discussion of squatters rights will impress me for 2.1 seconds while I am crossing the room to beat your ass off my property.
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..
What the berk?
no, seriously, what the berkin berk?
what you have just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having read it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.
No seriously
mguar wrote: A fellow squadron member did that and eventually acquired an abandoned dairy farm in Wisconsin.. Slightly different in that the previous owners had passed away and no Family members could be found.. On the other hand it's now growing corn at the rate of 220 bushels an acre and corn is selling in the $7.00 a bushel range.. So after expenses and everything he takes home well into the 6 figure range.
Not if he is paying his income/property taxes........
Otherwise he has revenue off the books.
mguar wrote: In reply to pinchvalve: So you prefer violence to reason? I mean you couldn't simply ask someone to leave? Most people I've met in my life are reasonable and respond well to logic but can get violent when threatened..
Reasonable people fill out an application and rent the place. Someone who breaks my property to get in, trespasses, uses utilities without paying for them, and exposes me to liability has already shown that they are not reasonable and are not going to leave when asked. People can get violent when threatened, sure, that's why I make it clear that it is not a wise idea. 
DILYSI Dave wrote: It was a cold world, that just needed a warm touch. "Not Without my Farmhouse", Staring Meredith Baxter Berny.
I have this sneaking suspicion this thread should've ended here. Kudos, Dave.
mguar wrote: In reply to Datsun1500: I was looking at vacancy rates in various cities.. rental property was as high as 18.8% in Orlando Florida and 5.4% for privately owned homes in Dayton Ohio.. It surprised me that Detroit was down to only 16.9% and 1.7% then I thought of all the homes that the city has bulldozed recently after trying to sell them for $1.00 Without igniting a flame war does anyone want to comment on homes people simply walk away from? (which based on comments from the OP seems to be the case he's speaking about?)
He's not walking away from a home... give the first post a read again.
http://mortgagefraudblog.com/perp-walk/item/18772-squatters-arrested-for-trying-to-steal-vacant-homes
Eight people accused of illegally taking possession of other people's vacant or abandoned houses have been indicted. All of the defendants were indicted in connection with the abuse of affidavits of adverse possession and are now facing trial on charges of burglary of a habitation and theft.
The grand jury indicted:
Anthony L. Brown, 62, on one count of burglary of a habitation, and one count of theft from $100,000 to $200,000. Because Brown has a prior criminal history, he is facing up to life in prison if convicted;
Jasmine Williams, 22, and David Cooper, 25, were each indicted on one count of burglary of a habitation, a second-degree felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison, and on one count of theft over $200,0000, a first-degree felony punishable by up to life in prison;
Andrew James LaTour II, 31, and Alicia Renee LaTour II, 30, were each indicted on one count of burglary of a habitation, punishable by up to 20 years in prison, and one count of theft over $200,000, punishable by up to life in prison;
Sandra Selena Latour, 51, Selena Kareen Brown, 29, and Andre Brown, 30, were each indicted on one count of burglary of habitation and one count of theft from $100,000 to $200,000 — both second degree felonies punishable by up to 20 years in prison; and
A ninth so-called "squatter," Billie V. Henderson, 64, has been charged by the criminal district attorney's office with misdemeanor criminal mischief on accusations he changed the locks on a house in an effort to try and take possession. Misdemeanor cases are generally not presented to a grand jury.
Tarrant County, Texas, has taken multiple steps to stop this practice and halt the fraudulent use of these documents. On the advice of Criminal District Attorney Joe Shannon, the County Clerk no longer accepts them and local police departments have been advised to work these cases if it appears the law has been violated. Multiple real estate attorneys from the Tarrant County Bar Association are also working, pro bono, to help property owners who have been victimized through no fault of their own.
The cases are being handled by Assistant District Attorneys David Lobingier and Bill Vassar. Because the cases are pending, this office cannot comment on the specifics of any of these cases.
Datsun1500 wrote: They are prosecuting the victims of bank fraud?
OK, you lost me there
pinchvalve wrote:mguar wrote: In reply to pinchvalve:something reasonable that will most certainly be ignored
Please familiarize yourself with the following important symbol.
Know it. Love it. Incorporate it into your dealings with argumentative people.
carguy123 wrote:Datsun1500 wrote: They are prosecuting the victims of bank fraud?OK, you lost me there
A certain someone said that squatters are victims of bank fraud or more so a victim than the guy that pays rent/mortgage.
JoeyM wrote:pinchvalve wrote:Please familiarize yourself with the following important symbol.mguar wrote: In reply to pinchvalve:something reasonable that will most certainly be ignored
I may have familiarized myself with that symbol below your post a few times.
Feel free to ignore.
Hey, more power to you.
If you think that what I say and do around here is an annoyance to the general populace, feel free to recruit some compatriots who will help you to collapse what I have to say. If you guys do it enough, I might even head back out to the garage to fabricate some fenders like I should be doing.
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