BofA takes a squatter to court, and you won't believe exactly where the man was squatting: a high-end luxury home. A clever 23-year-old Brazilian citizen named Andre "Loki" Barbosa moved into a Florida mansion in July 2012 by exploiting the state's adverse possession law, reported Yahoo! News on Jan. 27, 2013.
Police have been unsuccessful in removing the man from the $2.5 million property thus far. When officers responded to the home, the squatter handed them a sheaf of paperwork alleging his right to remain there, and the police left without taking action.
It's a strange story, and it's about time BofA takes the squatter to court. The antiquated adverse possession law indicates that a person may take possession of property by occupying it openly and paying real property taxes for a minimum of seven years. In this case, the owner of the property is Bank of America. They foreclosed on the property last year.
Barbosa has the open occupation part of the adverse possession law covered. He filed for adverse possession in July and even notified the Palm Beach County Property Appraiser's Office that he was moving into the mansion. He also posted a notice in the window of the home declaring himself a "living beneficiary to the Divine Estate being superior of commerce and usury." It is unclear whether Barbosa has also been paying real property taxes on the home. It's doubtful since taxes would cost many thousands of dollars and he has no discernible source of income. He certainly has not paid taxes for the requisite seven-year period.
An unidentified neighbor said Barbosa is only one of a group of squatters taking up residence in the foreclosed mansion. The group reportedly considers the property an "embassy" and requires visitors to show two forms of identification before entering. They allegedly plan to allow families to move in and out of the home, which boasts electricity but no running water.
BofA is taking the squatter to court after filing an injunction against a total of eight people living in the home. They are seeking to evict the unwanted occupants and collect $15,000 in damages to cover legal fees.
Of course, Bank of America isn't the only party that has had to take squatters to court. Check out the video at the top of the page to learn about one family's experience with squatters.
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