Claiming unowned Property/Land?

Question

I've been looking around online and found a website claiming to provide information on how to acquire for free unowned property or land.

how is this possible? i mean if it was that easy then nobody need buy a house ever again.

If anyone could shed some light on this i'd be grateful

Answer 1

If land/property is unowned, or no-one asserts ownership, then you can register yourself as the owner and if no-one challenges you then it becomes yours. BUT it doesn't become yours for something like 10 years?? (I don't know exactly) during which time the original owner or someone else who thinks they have a right to it can claim/reclaim ownership, so it ain't so easy that everyone can do it anytime. It works out OK for small unowned patches of land that adjoin another property (where the owner of the large property can gain ownership of the small extra patch -I know someone who did this) or in houses that have been abandoned because someone has died or something (squatter's rights). I think it boils down to 'possesion is 9/10ths of the law' - if you say it is yours and no one else says it is theirs - well, it's yours! Don't know much more than that but it is interesting. Hx

EDIT: For those up there who say there is no such thing as 'unowned land' - absolutely not true!! It's usually only small bits though - don't expect to be finding country estates sitting around waiting to be claimed. The Land Registry will be able to tell you more about this.

Answer 2

There is no such thing as 'unowned land'. Someone, SOMEWHERE owns it, whether it be a governmental entity, the estate of a deceased person, or some other obscure identity. In the rare situation where someone dies and leaves neither a will nor an heir, generally the state takes ownership. However, they don't give such properties away for free.

My guess is that the website wants money for this information. Hehehe. If you give it to them, they will have gotten something for free, not you.

Answer 3

First of all there is no such thing as unowned property . No where in the world will you find property that is just up for grabs . It is owned by an individual or some form of government ( local ,state or country) . So it's a scam .

Answer 4

There is no such thing as unowned land. A person owns it or the municipality does. Usually it is State owned

Answer 5

I wouldnt pay for that info. There are pieces of land that do not belong to anyone, you can put in a notice to your council that you wish to claim it and they have to wait a certain amount of time before giving it to you.
This isnt something you can buy. Why would they tell you the info when they could just claimthe land themselves and sell it off for a lot of money

Answer 6

That sounds like a con to me.

But let's, for the sake of arguement, accept that it's true. Even if you own the land, that doesn't mean you could do anything with it, because you'd have to get planning permission to build on it.

Answer 7

It sounds like a scam to me. If you want cheap property or land, check into hud homes, foreclosures and things of that sort. A local realtor will be more than happy to assist you and give you the information that you need.

Answer 8

you can put in a claim to land registry to accquire unoccupied property or land, but you have to prove that you have made use of it for at least 12 years. i.e squat .

Answer 9

sounds fishy to me.i have seen tax sale's where you pay the unpaid taxes.in that situation the owner can reimburse you with interest.if no one is claiming or paying the taxes the county takes it. you are talking about the usa

Answer 10

Sound too good to be true