Abandoned Houses

What is the name of your state?Ohio

Over the years i've noticed many abandoned houses in-town and in the country. Having been homeless much of my childhood, i am upset and confused by the idea of houses going unused. I even had a friend that stayed in one of these houses for two months without anyone ever stopping by or saying a thing. I was interested in whether these properties could perhaps be " taken" by someone like me, because of the owner's lack of paying the right taxes or purely by neglect. I figure that "legally" living in a run-down house in the country, might be better than living in a run-down, rented house in the city.

Someone with information please respond,
Thank you

commonjoe said:

What is the name of your state?Ohio

Over the years i've noticed many abandoned houses in-town and in the country. Having been homeless much of my childhood, i am upset and confused by the idea of houses going unused. I even had a friend that stayed in one of these houses for two months without anyone ever stopping by or saying a thing. I was interested in whether these properties could perhaps be " taken" by someone like me, because of the owner's lack of paying the right taxes or purely by neglect. I figure that "legally" living in a run-down house in the country, might be better than living in a run-down, rented house in the city.

Someone with information please respond,
Thank you

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**A: there are no squatters rights.

You could research property tax leins or tax sales for your state. If property has been abandoned and nobody is paying property taxes on it, you may be able to eventually aquire it for taxes due. The local county may even have a web site with more information.

You also could look at the rules for adverse possession. But that usually takes a long time, and for that to work, somebody would likely have to die with no heirs or be totally ignorant about their property, since it usually requires paying the property taxes. If the owner or heirs are paying attention, you could suddenly find yourself kicked out or charged with something. You cannot claim adverse possession for property owned by or reverted to the government.

Just because you see a farm house abandoned does not mean that somebody may have purchased or leased the land for agricultural purposes on the part already suitable for that. Farms keep growing or may be company owned. But the people that work them might not necessarily live on them.

Or the property has been sold for development, and the structure will eventually be torn down. DNR, rezoning and securing financing can caause an acquired property to sit a year or more following purchase BEFORE the razing and infrastructure for the project moves forward.

nextwife said:

Or the property has been sold for development, and the structure will eventually be torn down. DNR, rezoning and securing financing can caause an acquired property to sit a year or more following purchase BEFORE the razing and infrastructure for the project moves forward.

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**A: in the meantime though, can't he live there for free?