Other than buying outright or creatively structuring a deal consider the following scenario: you purchase a home next to a vacant lot. You don't own the lot and have no idea who does. You build a garage on the vacant lot and wish for the best. 15 years pass and no one claims the vacant lot so you seek the acquisition of the land by means of adverse possession. That is, since the legal owner of the land is unknown and you have appropriated it over an extended period of time you now have a legal right to the land.

Ok, you may be shaking your head at this concept and probably believe that there is no way it can be true. After all, you can't just go around building garages on people's property and moving into vacant building and claiming ownership, can you? Of course, not; but you can make a claim of adverse possession on a property provided certain 'notorious' conditions are met. No, notorious does not have anything to do with villainy! It is a legal that, along with adverse possession, requires a little explanation.

On a baseline level, adverse possession refers to the legal claim of an adjoining property by the neighboring property owner provided several conditions are met. These conditions are as follows: the one property owner must have used the adjoining property for 15 years and had done so in an open and "notorious" manner. (There's that word again and it needs a little clarification. Notorious refers to conducting activities in a highly visible manner) Also, the actions taken against the property must be hostile. (There is a weird word that rivals notorious. In this instance, hostile means without the permission of whoever may actually own the land). The claimant must also have used the land exclusively and can not share it in anyway with the true landholder. Also, there must be a "claim of right" which means you treat the adjoining property as if you own it.

Now when you meet all those requirements you can simple declare the property your own based on fiat, correct? Wrong! The ultimate decision on adverse possession comes from the court and a judgment must be rendered to award the title/deed of the property over to the claimant. If all the criteria are met, however, then a successful awarding of the title should be all but guaranteed.

Laws for Acquiring properties thru adverse posession may differ from state to state, so please check with the appropirate authority in the state you are investing. The author is an active investor in California.

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