Squatting Is Not Going To Get You A Mansion

I do NOT recommend adverse possession as the way to acquire a new home. See, “Squatting in Style.”  Seven (7) years is a long time. Adverse possession does have legitimate uses and legitimate purposes. I have been involved in many adverse possession cases. Most adverse possession cases involve boundary disputes and strips of land not entire houses. Squatting in a $2,500,000.00 home is never going to work.

I also think the Boca Raton police officers who decided this was a “civil matter” need a course in remedial law. I am not aware of a requirement that some one actually see you breaking into a home as a requirement to arrest someone for breaking and entering. If that were the case hardly anyone would ever be prosecuted for breaking and entering. If you do not own the house and you are in it uninvited, you have committed a crime.

By the way, the remedy for illegal squatting is not an eviction lawsuit. The squatter is not a “tenant.” The proper remedy to remove a squatter is a suit for ejectment. Frankly, the better remedy is for the police to do their job and remove the squatter upon a complaint from the owner. There really is no such thing as “adverse possession paperwork” that would allow you to hold property against the owner other than a final judgment from a court.