Andre Barbosa is living the dream. The 23-year-old has been crashing at a vacant mansion in Boca Raton, Fla., for free - and it's all legal. Say what now?
Using an obscure Florida real estate law to stake his claim on the foreclosed waterside property, Barbosa is legit squatting. The police can't move him.
No one saw him breaking into the house, so it's a civil matter. Representatives for the real owner, Bank of America, are "following a legal process."
Not surprisingly, the situation is driving his neighbors crazy.
"This is a very upsetting thing," said neighbor Lyn Houston. "Last week, I went to the Bank of America and asked to see the person in charge of mortgages."
"I told them, 'I am prepared to buy this house.' They haven't even called back."
Barbosa, according to reports, is a Brazilian national who refers to himself as "Loki Boy," presumably after the Norse god of mischief. He did not return calls.
He has reportedly posted a notice in the front window naming him as a "living beneficiary to the Divine Estate being superior of commerce and usury."
A spokeswoman for Bank of America said her company has sent overnight a complaint and an eviction notice to a clerk in Palm Beach County.
Still, it's unclear how quickly (if at all) the matter will be resolved.
Barbosa is invoking a state law called "adverse possession," which allows someone to move in and claim a property's title if they can stay there seven years.
A signed copy of that note is also posted in the front window.
Soon after Bank of America foreclosed on the property in July, Barbosa notified the Palm Beach County Property Appraiser's Office that he was moving in.
Police were called to the home, which was empty for 18 months, but did not remove him. He presented cops with the "adverse possession" paperwork.
The law stems from the days when most people lived on farms; whomever moves in to occupy the property must do so in an "open and notorious manner."
The deed is currently valued at $2.5 million, according to county records. The county appraiser's office lists the total market value at $2.1 million.
Hey, you might as well squat in style.
Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/01/squatter-living-in-florida-mansion-dot-dot-dot-legally/
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