Today in TechTexas man snags $330,000 home for $16 after researching obscure law online
They say you can find anything on the internet, and for one Texas man, it proved true. Kenneth Robinson used an obscure Texas law he researched online called adverse possession, and used it to obtain property rights to a $330,000 home. His cost? Just $16 for the court fee to file the paperwork he printed off from the web.
The home, located in Flower Mound, Texas, was abandoned by its previous owner after being foreclosed upon. The mortgage company then went out of business due to the failing economy. This opened the door for Robinson, who used the little-known law to effectively take possession of the house.
The Adverse Possession law states that unless the original owner repays the massive mortgage amount to the bank — and then the bank files papers to have Robinson evicted — the home and chunk of land it sits on is his. After 3 years of remaining in the home, Robinson can petition the court for the deed, officially sealing the deal.
Robinson, a former real estate agent himself, spent months online researching the complicated law and searching for the perfect instance to which it could be applied. Once the found the pristine abode in Flower Mound, he printed the necessary forms and filed them at the local courthouse, much to the dismay of his new neighbors.
The rest of the high-dollar homeowners on the street have taken exception to Robinson's manipulation of the system and have tried on multiple occasions to have him evicted. Unfortunately for them, home ownership is a civil matter, meaning local law enforcement is absolutely powerless to remove him from the premises.
It's unclear what, if any, legal action could be taken against Robinson at this point, and it appears that the law is on his side. But would you even want to live in a nearly free home if everyone else in the community were out to get you? We're not sure we would.
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