The Best Ways to halt the Adverse Possession of Property
Most property owners tend to deal with, including taxes and keeping their properties maintained. To add to their burden, there’s always the possibility their properties may fall prey to adverse possession. More commonly known as squatting, adverse possession is an attempt by one party to select the property of another without permission. Fortunately, methods are available to prevent adverse possession attempts, mostly involving conscientious property management as well as court actions.
Preventing Adverse Possession
Adverse possession, or squatting, is considered a true estate menace and stopping it is critical for real estate owners. For owners of bare land, it’s important to watch possessed lands frequently for efforts by others to alter border lines or erect structures. For owners of apartments, buildings and homes, keeping squatters physically out in the first area is the ideal method to effectively prevent possession. Squatters are clever in identifying even temporarily vacant apartments or homes and then moving in.
Stopping Adverse Possession
Once adverse possession happens it’s difficult to dislodge the adverse possessor. As an example, a squatter may occupy a vacant home, make supposed “repairs” and then stave off eviction from asserting tenant rights. Sometimes, however, squatters make actual ownership claims backed up authentic-appearing deeds and property title function. When squatters make real estate claims, legitimate property owners are generally made to resort to sometimes-lengthy court procedures. However, quick court action by property owners can shorten the distance of an adverse ownership attempt.
Other Steps
Adverse possessors must occupy properties they’re squatting for several years without valid owners contesting their squatting attempts. In states like California, squatters must also make uncontested real property tax payments to the properties they’re attempting to own. Producing your property tax payments regularly will help prevent adverse ownership from success. Last, though it may gall a real estate owner, paying an adverse possessor “move out money” or money payments to leave is often what squatters are after. .
Prevention is Key
It’s often far easier to prevent adverse possession in the first place than to stop it once it happens. Owners of vacant land should have their lands officially surveyed on occasion to prevent land border violations and adverse ownership attempts. Rental property owners or owners leaving their properties vacant for prolonged intervals should secure them thoroughly or rent them out. Landlords often have a simpler time evicting tenants overstaying their rentals than they do evicting actual adverse possessors.