Thought I’d Seen It All
Earlier this year, several landowners complained to county supervisors that an individual had erected a large fence and installed guards to keep them off the property. Problem is, it is their property! Apparently this individual has built a large compound where he lives with his six children, on their property. He put up No Trespassing signs, on their property. He ran a free food program for the poor until the county code enforcement and sheriffs deputies raided the property,their property.
There is an accomodation in California law that allows the taking of land from somebody through an action called "adverse possession."
You can acquire title to land, even if someone else already owns it, if you’ve fenced it, openly occupied it without permission and paid property taxes continuously for five years.
Riverside County currently has about 20 cases of this type occurring. There would probably be more, but the paying of property taxes is where most get caught, because the tax collector usually notices two payments on the same property when different parties pay them.
I’m sure there is… Read More