Posted on 01/25/2013 5:27:04 AM PST by Uncle Chip
Andre Barbosa can safely say that he has one of the nicest homes on the block in Boca Raton, Florida. But the 23-year-old Brazilian national does not own or even rent the palatial $2.5million estate legally - he is a squatter.
Barbosa, originally from the neighboring Pompano Beach, moved into 580 Golden Harbour Drive in July Now he is threatening to use an obscure real estate law that allows people to claim a property as their own if they stay there for seven years.
No one witnessed Barbosa breaking into the 7,522-squae foot, five-bedroom, six-bathroom waterfront home, so he cannot be arrested.
And Bank of America, which foreclosed on the house, so far has done nothing to evict the 23-year-old and reclaim the property.
Other residents in the tony part of Boca Raton where most home sell for upwards of $1million want something done about the unusual living arrangement.
Next-door neighbor Lyn Houston told the Sun-Sentinel that she had approached Bank of America last week with an offer to buy the foreclosed house that Barbosa has been calling home, but she has received no response.
‘We're all going crazy, trying to figure out what to do,’ she said. ‘It's unbelievable that it can be done. Plus, if they've got the balls to break in the house, what's to prevent them from coming over here?’
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
I wonder why some cities don't use a concept like this for houses that sit vacant when heirs can't be found to rescue houses that sit empty until some hobo sets it on fire, when some one could repair it to rent out and if the owner shows then he would have to pay for the improvements or lose out ?...
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