Squatters are finding a loophole in a Texas state law and are moving into residences, choosing some of the priciest, most luxurious homes to settle down in.

A study by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram found that squatters have overtaken numerous suburbian homes, some valued at more than $8 million, in Tarrant County. 

"It's the craziest thing how anyone could be so brazen as to just break into a home and start living in it," Tarrant County Precinct 7 Constable Clint Burgess told the Associated Press. 

The state law allows squatters to claim property if no owner is on hand to challenge it. They’re targeting vacant properties where owners have died or home owners are away because of a job or even illness. In one incident in Houston, squatters threw away the owner’s belongings in a commercial garbage bin and moved in while the home owner was having chemotherapy.

“Squatters are claiming houses they insist are abandoned by filing affidavits of adverse possession with county clerks, paying a $16 filing fee, keeping current with property taxes and pledging to live in the house for at least three years,” the Associated Press reports.

The author of this article is: realtormag.realtor.org

See the original post at: http://realtormag.realtor.org/daily-news/2011/12/06/squatters-settle-multimillion-dollar-homes

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