“There's nothing in the statute that says you can't, so conceivably you could set up camp for 10 years,” says Shannon, “but the chances are there's some mortgage company or somebody that's not getting the payments on it, so it's not real practical in the cities.” The Tarrant County Clerk’s office accepted about 60 of these adverse possession filings this year before it stopped taking them. Some of the more egregious cases include Brunner’s neighbor, the woman receiving chemotherapy, and a travelling nurse who had been gone for a few months because of work.
“I will say this is the most amazing situation we’ve ever dealt with,” says Tarrant County Constable Clint Burgess. “How anyone thinks they can take a home for $16 and live in it and then grief to a homeowner after that, it just amazes us.” The squatters have even gone so far as to file mechanic’s liens against the homeowners to reclaim funds for supposed “improvements” to the house. Then they offer to settle with the homeowner, for a price. To District Attorney Shannon, these cases are criminal, pure and simple.
“A person who moves in without the consent of the owner with the intent to commit felony or theft or assault, then that's a burglary of a habitation,” said Shannon. So far, Shannon is prosecuting about five of these cases with more to come. Investigators are trying to figure out why these cases have popped up in Tarrant County this year and if any of them are related. For Brunner, the HOA president whose neighbor was victimized, the damage is done. He says his neighbor is now considering selling the half million dollar home.
http://thebeerbarrel.net/showthread.php?11127-Squatters-in-Texas-Town-Use-Arcane-Law-to-Claim-Vacant-Homes
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