Delaware man loses $125,000 worth of property to squatter after trying to remove goat pen she built on top
A Recently discovered Delaware man While trying to sell some of the property his family has owned for two generations, his neighbor had taken control of the land and he has lost ownership after the neighbor claimed squatter rights.
In 2021, Burton Banks attempted to sell part of a property his father left him near Ocean View, Delaware, but found that his neighbor Melissa Schrock had built a goat pen on part of the property and about two-thirds of which used an acre of land for decades, Delaware Online reports.
Banks took Schrock, who was claiming the squatter’s rights, to court and a judge ruled against him.
The judge determined that Banks had not been a primary resident of the property for the past 20 years and only occasionally visited from his Atlanta home The Delaware Adverse Possession Actgives Schrock a claim to the property after 20 years.
“It can be shocking because most people don’t know about it.” Widener University law professor Serena Williams told the outlet about the rights of squatters in the state.
The case was further complicated by the fact that both properties have largely been owned for the past 20 years by individuals who are both deceased, Burton’s father and Schrock’s mother. Schrock’s mother had also received the land from Burton’s father before he died and passed it on to Schrock when she died.
WASHINGTON PROPERTY OWNER SAYS OCCUPANTS WILL RETURN AFTER SWAT RAID: ‘I WILL GIVE UP’
“It’s just always been my backyard since I was a kid,” Schrock argued in her counterclaim.
In February, Supreme Court Justice Craig Karsnitz decided that Schrock had met the 20-year cast requirement and Burton had not, forcing Burton to surrender title to Schrock.
The property that Burton lost is valued at $125,000.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FOX NEWS APP
“I can’t afford the appeal,” Burton said. “But I hope I can at least warn others.”
https://news.yahoo.com/delaware-man-loses-125-000-130002861.html Delaware man loses $125,000 worth of property to squatter after trying to remove goat pen she built on top
