Asked in Foreclosure, Real Estate Law and Tax Law

Q: theres an abandoned house ive been looking at, can i just move in?

looks like no one have been their since the 1990s. Ive been going back to look at it for 6 years it hasn't been touched. Only info i can find is the lot number other than that i cant even find the official address

its located 1/12 hour out of town in a rural farming community

2 Lawyer Answers
Leonard R. Boyer
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Answered
  • Foreclosure Defense Lawyer
  • Clifton, NJ

A: What makes you think you would have any right to move into any house just because a "looked at it for 6 years"? How could that possibly make legal sense?

Theodore David Vicknair Sr.
Theodore David Vicknair Sr.
Answered
  • Tax Law Lawyer
  • Mandeville, LA

A: No, you can't do that. Theoretically, if you just moved in, you could get squatters rights, or title to the property. But generally, that is a 30-year period (depending on state law) of possessing the property and you have received no objection. Not likely to happen.

I would take a more practical approach. Go to the county tax assessor's office. They should have maps available of all assessed properties, and point out the property in question. They will give you the written tax assessment and the address of the owner. Contact the owner and make an offer to buy. It's the honest and respectable thing to do.

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