Neighbors say Robinson is just a squatter, but after months of research into Adverse Possession Laws, Robinson says he is occupying the $330,000 home legally.

According to neighbors the house was in foreclosure for more than a year and the owner walked away. Then, the mortgage company went out of business.

Robinson says an online form he printed out and filed at the Denton County courthouse for $16 gave him rights to the house. The paper says the house was abandoned and he’s claiming ownership.

The house is virtually empty, with just a few pieces of furniture. There is no running water or electricity. But, Robinson claims that just by setting up camp in the living room, Texas law gives him exclusive negotiating rights with the original owner. If the owner wants him out, he would have to pay off his massive mortgage debt and the bank would have to file a complicated lawsuit.

Robinson posted “no trespassing” signs after neighbors asked police to arrest him for breaking in.

Officers say they can’t remove him from the property because home ownership is a civil matter, not criminal.

The neighbors aren’t happy. They are talking to the mortgage company, real estate agents and attorneys. They’re convinced he broke into the house to take possession, but Robinson maintains that he found a key and he gained access legally.

“If he wants the house, buy the house like everyone else had to,” one neighbor said. “Get the money, buy the house.”

Robinson said he’s not buying anything. As far as he’s concerned, the $330,000 house is already his and he has the paperwork to prove it.

Adverse possession is nothing new and some form of this law is found is many countries around the world.

Empty homes are most often ‘occupied’ by temporary squatters, but some have longer term plans and get their paperwork in order so that they can eventually claim the property if no one challenges their claim.

Robinson isn’t doing anything wrong, he is acting within the law. His neighbors are put out because they think Robinson is getting something for nothing. Seems like there’s nothing like good old envy to get a witch hunt started. Maybe they should  focus their attention on the banks who keep on getting something for nothing and whose business model guarantees hardship and misery for millions of people.

Adverse Possession (from Blacks Law Dictionary)

Adverse possession is the taking of title to real estate by possessing it for a certain period of time.  Title means ownership of real estate.  The person claiming title to real estate by adverse possession must have actual possession of it that is open, notorious, exclusive and adverse to the claims of other persons to the title.  By its very nature, a claim of adverse possession is hostile to the claims of other persons.  It cannot be hidden but must be open and notorious in order to put other persons on notice as to one’s claim for possession of the real estate.

A claim to title by adverse possession often must be made under color of title.  Color of title means a claim to title by way of a fact which, although on its face appears to support a person’s claim to title, is in some way defective and falls short of actually establishing title to the real estate.  An example of a claim made under color of title would be a deed whose execution was defective or is in question.  Another example is a claim arising from another person’s Last Will and Testament.  Yet another common example is where two or more persons have received separate deeds to the same parcel of real estate.

Adverse Possession laws are not the same in all states, the time the claimant must occupy the property varies from two to twenty five years. Check your states requirements here

Even if a claim is challenged and the occupier is forced to move on, having a roof over your head, for the cost of filing a form beats living in a car or a tent city.

Kellog settled a class action lawsuit which contended that the cereal maker falsely advertised that the two cereals supported your immune system even though it didn’t have competent clinical evidence to back that claim.

Kellog settled a similar lawsuit last year over its Frosted Mini-Wheats, which claimed to “clinically improve kids’ attentiveness by nearly 20%.”

You can claim $5 per box, up to a maximum of 3 boxes per household. Submit your online claim form, attesting under penalty of perjury that you did indeed buy the cereal, at cerealadvertisingsettlement.com. Closing date for submissions is November 16th 2011.

Just under half live in a household where someone has lost a job or are worried that unemployment may hit them in the near future.

So it would seem that despite all of the talking heads on TV constantly telling  viewers that the economy is picking up, almost half don’t believe a word of it and are experiencing a very different reality.

Here is a link to the poll results

Around 90% of the energy used for washing clothes goes to heat the water, with only 10% of the energy that a washing machine consumes going to the motor. So if you want to cut costs on your laundry – use the cold fill.

Most items that just need freshening up can be washed on the cold setting – but stick with higher temps for really grubby stuff!

If you use a liquid detergent you can add it as normal, but if you use powder, you’ll want to dissolve it in a little warm water and then add it to the wash.

~Samuel Johnson

Beware of little expenses; a small leak will sink a great ship.

~Benjamin Franklin

He who does not economize will have to agonize.  ~Confucius

Lat year 15% of homeowners facing financial struggles admitted that a strategic default would be a step they would consider. This year that figure jumped to 27%.

It seems that trapped homeowners are increasingly ready to accept the rationale of professional investors and dump investments which no longer make sense.

Head over to facebook and like their page to get your coupon while supplies last.

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Chips Ahoy will be giving away 5000 free samples of their Chewy Gooey Cookies each day until June 9th.

When Bank Of America instigated foreclosure proceedings against Warren and Maureen Nyerges they should have checked first to make sure that the couple actually had a mortgage with them.

The Nyerges paid cash for their home and no mortgage existed but BOA messed up and took the couple to court.

The judge ordered BOA to pay the couples legal fees, but 5 months later BOA still hadn’t paid up, so the Nyerges went to the bank with sheriffs deputies ready to legally seize the banks assets!

Read all about it here

This isn’t the first time banks have tried to foreclose on properties that don’t have mortgages on them and it probably won’t be the last.