Tag: occupancy

How To Get A $300,000 Home For Just $16!!

by:  Peter J. Gallagher

A Texas man has moved into a $300,000 home in a "well-manicured" section of Flower Mound, Texas and it only cost him $16 to do so.  As the Daily Mail recently reported ("Man Uses Obscure Law To Obtain Ownership Of $300K Home In Upscale Texas Town . . . for just $16"), the man took advantage of an "obscure" Texas law that permits residents to take ownership of abandoned homes through adverse possession.  Although apparently not too popular with his new neighbors, the man is the envy of extreme couponers and bargain hunters everywhere. 

As the article notes, the house was abandoned after being hit with a trifecta of mortgage crisis phenomena:  (1) the mortgage company foreclosed upon the property; (2) the owners simply walked away from the mortgage and the property; and (3) the mortgage company went bust.  Enter Kenneth Robinson.  After doing "months of research," Robinson filled out some paperwork, paid the $16 filing fee, and moved his belongings into the home.  Robinson is now seeking to take ownership in the home under a law that the paper described as follows: 

Under the law, if someone moves into an abandoned home they have exclusive negotiating rights with the original owner.

If the owner wants them to leave, they have to pay off the mortgage debt on the home and the bank has to file a complicated lawsuit to get them evicted.

Mr Robinson believes that because of the cost required to move him out, he will be able to stay in the house. Under occupancy laws, if he remains there for three years he can ask the court for the title.

Staying three years may prove difficult though, as the home currently does not have any water or electricity.  Nonetheless, Robinson appears undeterred.

Not surprisingly, the neighbors have not welcomed Robinson to the neighborhood with open arms.  In fact, since moving in, Robinson has put up "No Trespassing" signs after his neighbors called the police to have him arrested for trespassing.  However, according to the police, Robinson cannot be arrested or removed because home ownership is a civil matter.  Judging by the comments from the neighbors, it does not appear that the matter will stay civil for much longer.

Landlords Have Duty To Maintain Premises Attractive To Tenants’ Customers

by: Katharine A. Muscalino

Although a landlord is generally required to maintain a leasehold in good condition, the Appellate Division has now clarified that the leasehold’s condition must make the premises attractive to tenants’ customers and assist in the tenants’ “in selling their wares and goods.”  In Wallington Plaza, LLC v. Taher, decided on July 7, 2011, the tenant vacated the premises upon one months’ notice, with six months remaining in the lease term.  The landlord demanded judgment in the amount of six months’ rent.  However, the tenant claimed that because the landlord had breached an implied covenant to maintain the shopping center in a good condition attractive to tenants’ customers, tenant was only obligated to pay rent for the time it occupied the premises.  Finding that the parking lot of the shopping center was run-down and that many of the other shopping center stores were vacant, the court agreed that landlord had breached this obligation.  The court held that tenant was responsible for paying two months’ rent, inclusive of its last month of occupancy following its notice, because the lease required two months’ notice of termination of the lease.