Squatter's rights/Adverse possession help???

Question

LAND...Can some explain it to me please? I was told if you use it for 7 or so many years (without ) the owners say, that it is yours after that or you can go to court and get it cause you have used it for so many years! I'm confused help please..

Sorry I live in West Virginia....

Sorry I live in West Virginia....

Answer 1

Adverse possession is the taking of someone else's lands without their permission and doing it legally. How about that one for an oxymoron.
In any event to establish adverse possession several facts must be present and they vary from state to state here they are:
1.) The term of possession by the party claiming the lands must be 7 to 20 years depending on the state law
2.) The possession must be open, notorious and untinterrupted
3.) The possessor must be aware that they are adversely possessing the lands
4.) The possessor should show some kind of color of title
5.) The property taxes on the property claimed must have been paid by the possessor
Most states allow for "tacking on" which is added time to the possessor's time to meet the state's time requirement for adverse possession (item 1 above) Say one party has 15 years of adverse possession and then sells to another party who owns it for another 5 years and meets a particular state's 20 year time
To prove adverse possession one has to file a Quiet Title suit in where one claims title to the property.
To stop adverse possession one must also go to court and quiet the title to their property including the portion being lost to adverse possession, if one knows that someone is trying to take their property through adverse possession and they have not yet met the state's time requirement all one has to do is send them a certified return letter granting them permission to use the property until you have the time to Quiet your title. This procedure does not allow the possessor to meet the criteria in #1 and #2 above.
Most adverse possessions are based on boundary disputes and on abandoned properties.
If you are a victim of adverse possession you should seek legal remedies with the assistance of a real estate attorney immediately.

Answer 2

you didn`t say were you lived but here are the laws in cal. Long-term Rights: Adverse Possession
Squatting can actually lead to the total legal possession of the housing, through what's called "adverse possession."
Sometimes, squatters get lucky and find a squat which the landlord seems to have really abandoned. Police and neighbors have been dealt with successfully and after many months the landlord still hasn't complained or been seen. In that case, squatters might start laying plans for gaining adverse possession.
California Code of Civil Procedure 321 and 325 deal with the most relevant factors of adverse possession. Generally, the law says that a claim to adverse possession can be made after five years of possession and after the adverse possessors have paid the taxes on the property.
Adverse possession has been interpreted to mean "open and notorious" possession, in the sense that the squatting has been done on a level where the squatters' presence is not hidden and the landlord could have reasonably gained knowledge of the possession. (In other words, squatters who arrive at midnight and clear out by 5 a.m. every day for five years might not meet the requirements of "open and notorious.")
Code of Civil Procedure 321 requires the property to have been "held and possessed adversely to such legal title for five years." Section 325 sets the requirement for the payment of taxes and also includes a provision that the property be "cultivated or improved" (which can be repairs, painting, etc.).
When a squatter gets into the position where adverse possession becomes a possibility, the greatest hurdle is often the payment of taxes, mainly because the landlord can pay the taxes on the 364th day of the 5th year and defeat the squatter's claim to adverse possession (which is exactly what happened at a San Francisco squat in the 1970s). If squatters begin getting a substantial length of possession under their belt, it's imperative that they begin saving up to pay the taxes in order to finalize their claim.