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[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ The Forum Board ] [ FAQ ] Getting property free is the ultimate payoff.. Posted by Ward-CA- on June 27, 2003 at 9:52 PM In Reply to: Attorneys and Adverse Possession posted by Kristine-CA on June 27, 2003 at 11:00 AM : Greetings. It was suggested to me on another investor board that I post here as Ward is considered an expert on adverse possession. I invest in Kern county, mostly wholesaling rehab properties to investors. My specialty is title flaws and probate issues. I come across properties that I believe would be very good candidates for adverse possession. Sometimes there are heirs that have abandoned the property because of estate debt and Medi-Cal issues. Sometimes there is no debt but no one will step forward to petition for succession or act as administrator for the probate. : I would like to know if anyone can recommend an attorney in CA, but preferably in Kern county that can advise me regarding adverse possession. Many attorneys have done AD and quiet title actions for vacant land and lot line adjustments, but I haven't met one that has done one with a single family residence. : I need to fully understand the recording keeping, when the AD starts and other technicalities of the open and notorious use. For example: If I rent the property, is that open and notorious use? Do I pay the taxes annually as they become due or can I pay in a lump sum? Does the AD start from the first tax payment I make or from the when the taxes were due, etc. : As you can see, I have a ton of things I need to clarify. Reading the law is one thing, but talking to someone who has presented a successful case in court is another. : Any suggestions or opinions would be appreciated. Sincerely, Kristine -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Kristine, Sorry, but I don’t know of any attorneys in Kern County. But there’s a well known CA attorney who writes a nation-wide, syndicated real estate column for Sunday’s newspaper and has written several articles on the subject of adverse possession. His name is Robert J. Bruss, and his address in Northern CA is 251 Park Road, Suite 200 Burlingame, CA 94010. His web site is http://www.robertbruss.com Perhaps Mr. Bruss can recommend the attorney you seek in Kern County. I can also recommend you go to your local, county law library and get yourself a copy of the Code of Civil Procedure Section 318-328.5 that deals with the requirements for acquiring property via adverse possession. Reading it will answer a lot of your questions. Adverse possession is a means of acquiring title to real property without a conveyance from the legal owner. In many circles it is thought of as “legalized squatting”. Gaining title by adverse possession has been allowed by law since 1872 in California. The purported reason the law was passed was to encourage the use of unused, unproductive property and promote the prompt payment of property taxes. According to Bruss many people here in CA try to acquire property via adverse possession. I happen to disagree with him on this point. Hardly anyone I’ve ever had a conversation with on this topic has a clue about it. Most other states allow for acquiring title to property through adverse possession too. In Arizona you only need to occupy the property for 2 years. In CA it’s 5 years and in Texas it’s a 20 to 30 year marathon. There are two parts to acquiring title via the adverse possession route. The first part is to successfully occupy the property for the required time period and the second is to pay the annual property taxes during the holding period. The 5 year time period is shown to be initiated by the start of your occupancy or your tenant’s occupancy. So save your first utility bills and your first rental agreement and rent payment. Once the 5 year mark arrives you’d probably want to go another 3 months or more just for good measure. And during those 3 or more months you’d want to hire a credentialed private investigator to try to find the owner or owner relatives to inform of your quiet title action. Once you’ve met the two main criteria then you would sue the owner of record for full legal and equitable title to the property via a Quiet Title action in court. During that trial you’d have to prove to the Court’s satisfaction that you met all the adverse possession requirements: 1. An open, notorious, obvious, physical occupation of the premises by the AP (adverse possessor) or her tenant; 2. That said occupancy was with hostile intent, i.e. not agreed to, by the property owner (Code of Civil Procedure §3224); 3. The occupation of the premises (by the claimant or by her tenant) was continuous and uninterrupted for the entire five year time period (CCP §321); and 4. Proof that the claimant paid all the property taxes, as they came due, during the required five year period (CCP 325). If the Court finds the claimant has successfully met all the required conditions it will issue a recordable decree declaring the claimant the full legal owner of the property. If there were mortgages or trust deeds owing against the property you’d want to keep the payments current to avoid loosing the property to a foreclosure auction. Paying on the mortgages would also defeat any allegation of rent skimming that’s prohibited by both state and federal law. Follow Ups: Re: Getting property free is the ultimate payoff.. Jerrold Martin 4:51 AM, 09/25/03 (2) Acquiring title to raw land via Adverse Possession.. Ward-CA- 7:01 AM, 09/25/03 (1) Re: Acquiring title to raw land via Adverse Possession.. Jerrold Martin 8:39 AM, 09/25/03 (0) Re: Getting property free is the ultimate payoff.. Jerrold Martin 4:50 AM, 09/25/03 (0) Re: Getting property free is the ultimate payoff.. Kristine-CA 10:28 PM, 06/27/03 (1) Re: Getting property free is the ultimate payoff.. Ward-CA- 11:02 PM, 06/27/03 (0) Post a Followup: Name : E-Mail : Subject : Comments: : : Greetings. It was suggested to me on another investor board that I post here as Ward is considered an expert on adverse possession. I invest in Kern county, mostly wholesaling rehab properties to investors. My specialty is title flaws and probate issues. I come across properties that I believe would be very good candidates for adverse possession. Sometimes there are heirs that have abandoned the property because of estate debt and Medi-Cal issues. Sometimes there is no debt but no one will step forward to petition for succession or act as administrator for the probate. : : I would like to know if anyone can recommend an attorney in CA, but preferably in Kern county that can advise me regarding adverse possession. Many attorneys have done AD and quiet title actions for vacant land and lot line adjustments, but I haven't met one that has done one with a single family residence. : : I need to fully understand the recording keeping, when the AD starts and other technicalities of the open and notorious use. For example: If I rent the property, is that open and notorious use? Do I pay the taxes annually as they become due or can I pay in a lump sum? Does the AD start from the first tax payment I make or from the when the taxes were due, etc. : : As you can see, I have a ton of things I need to clarify. Reading the law is one thing, but talking to someone who has presented a successful case in court is another. : : Any suggestions or opinions would be appreciated. Sincerely, Kristine : -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- : Kristine, : Sorry, but I don’t know of any attorneys in Kern County. But there’s a well known CA attorney who writes a nation-wide, syndicated real estate column for Sunday’s newspaper and has written several articles on the subject of adverse possession. : His name is Robert J. Bruss, and his address in Northern CA is 251 Park Road, Suite 200 Burlingame, CA 94010. His web site is http://www.robertbruss.com : Perhaps Mr. Bruss can recommend the attorney you seek in Kern County. : I can also recommend you go to your local, county law library and get yourself a copy of the Code of Civil Procedure Section 318-328.5 that deals with the requirements for acquiring property via adverse possession. Reading it will answer a lot of your questions. : Adverse possession is a means of acquiring title to real property without a conveyance from the legal owner. In many circles it is thought of as “legalized squatting”. Gaining title by adverse possession has been allowed by law since 1872 in California. The purported reason the law was passed was to encourage the use of unused, unproductive property and promote the prompt payment of property taxes. : According to Bruss many people here in CA try to acquire property via adverse possession. I happen to disagree with him on this point. Hardly anyone I’ve ever had a conversation with on this topic has a clue about it. : Most other states allow for acquiring title to property through adverse possession too. In Arizona you only need to occupy the property for 2 years. In CA it’s 5 years and in Texas it’s a 20 to 30 year marathon. : There are two parts to acquiring title via the adverse possession route. The first part is to successfully occupy the property for the required time period and the second is to pay the annual property taxes during the holding period. : The 5 year time period is shown to be initiated by the start of your occupancy or your tenant’s occupancy. So save your first utility bills and your first rental agreement and rent payment. Once the 5 year mark arrives you’d probably want to go another 3 months or more just for good measure. And during those 3 or more months you’d want to hire a credentialed private investigator to try to find the owner or owner relatives to inform of your quiet title action. : Once you’ve met the two main criteria then you would sue the owner of record for full legal and equitable title to the property via a Quiet Title action in court. : During that trial you’d have to prove to the Court’s satisfaction that you met all the adverse possession requirements: : 1. An open, notorious, obvious, physical occupation of the premises by the AP (adverse possessor) or her tenant; : 2. That said occupancy was with hostile intent, i.e. not agreed to, by the property owner (Code of Civil Procedure §3224); : 3. The occupation of the premises (by the claimant or by her tenant) was continuous and uninterrupted for the entire five year time period (CCP §321); and : 4. Proof that the claimant paid all the property taxes, as they came due, during the required five year period (CCP 325). : If the Court finds the claimant has successfully met all the required conditions it will issue a recordable decree declaring the claimant the full legal owner of the property. : If there were mortgages or trust deeds owing against the property you’d want to keep the payments current to avoid loosing the property to a foreclosure auction. : Paying on the mortgages would also defeat any allegation of rent skimming that’s prohibited by both state and federal law. : Optional Link URL: Link Title: Optional Image URL: [ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ The Forum Board ] [ FAQ ] WWWAdmin 2.0a © 1997 Matt Wright and DBasics Software Company, All Rights Reserved

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