Texas Man Takes Possession of $340,000 House for $16

The town of Flower Mound, Texas, is the center of a strange controversy involving a man's creative use of an obscure Texas law known as "Adverse Possession," which allowed him to take possession of a house that he does not own.

Kenneth T. Robinson has apparently paid a $16 fee under the Adverse Possession law that allowed him to move into a two-story, 3,250-square-foot house that would ordinarily cost $340,000. He was able to do this because the owner moved out, walking away from the mortgage, and cannot be found. The house is not listed for sale because apparently the original mortgage holder has gone out of business.

According to Texas law Robinson could take legal possession of the house in as little as three years, if he pays the required property taxes and homeowners' association fees and remains living in the house. He has promised to do so, as well as performing needed maintenance.

According to the Associated Press, Robinson's neighbors are not happy. There seems to be a matter of principle involved, the objection being that someone should not get such a nice, expensive house in their neighborhood without actually paying for it. The police have been called twice so far, but Robinson seems to have the law on his side. Suffice to say that he has not been made to feel welcome, however.

Adverse Possession is not something that is new or restricted to of Texas. People of limited means in New York City have been using New York's version of the law for decades to squat in abandoned buildings in the lower east side of Manhattan, according to Credit.Com. But Texas, unlike New York, does not have as great an entitlement culture.

The legal remedies for Robinson's outraged neighbors are somewhat limited. The original owner could be found, perhaps, who could then proceed with litigation to evict Robinson from his property. The legal tangle of which institution actually holds the mortgage could be worked out, forcing Robinson to leave as well. Of course Robinson could take the option of buying the house at that point in the regular fashion.

Another possibility would be if Robinson's reluctant neighbors finds his presence in their community too much of a stench in the nostrils, they could band together and buy him out. Of course this would mean that Robinson, for $16 and some time and aggravation will have made a tidy profit, just by using the system. One suspects that the matter will be taken up at the next meeting of the Texas Legislature in a year or so.

Texas resident Mark Whittington writes about state issues for the Yahoo! Contributor Network.