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$16 for a house. Is it truly possible?
You may have seen the news story about the man in Texas that supposedly paid $16 for a luxury home worth over $300,000 in an exclusive gated community.
Man who took possession of $330K home for $16
The story is an interesting one, but not a new one.  In fact "adverse possession" laws have been around for hundreds of years dating back to English common law and are in effect in pretty much every state in America.  The premise is that someone who is in possession of a property and obviously using it after a certain period of time should not be able to be kicked out of the property by the heirs of some old owner due to some old title claim.  The adverse possession laws also are in place so that abandoned properties at some point can get back into being productive and useful to society. You can read more about the history and definitions of adverse possession on Wikipedia.
The general common law requirements for adverse possession can be found in the acronym H.O.T.C.A.N.E.  The occupant's possession must be Hostile (not with someone else's approval like a lease or easement), Open (not trying to be concealed or hidden from others), paying property Taxes on the house, Continuous use for ... more

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