Couple Says Squatter Put His House On Their Land
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KERENS (CBSDFW.COM) - Ashley and Reuben Cockrell said they worked hard to buy their five-acre plot in Kerens in 2013.
"In cash, no mortgage or anything," said Ashley Cockrell.
The Plano couple plans to build a barn and little country home on the property in a few years.
They haven't visited the property as much since their son Levi was born seven months ago, so they drove by after visiting family in Houston a few weeks ago.
"I seriously had to do a triple take because, why is there a house on my property," asked Cockrell.
Cockrell said someone had put a home on their land, had the power company install two power poles on the property, left a pile of toilets and installed a fence around the entire lot.
"We bought this land and someone else is squatting on it, bailing our hay and re-fencing our property. They are trying to take our land from us," said Cockrell.
It turns out the man who owns the lot next door was the culprit. Cockrell said he had asked her about the property in the past.
"They wanted to buy it from us, but we declined," said Cockrell.
The Cockrells believe the neighbor knew what he was doing.
"I feel he was trying to take our property through adverse possession," said Cockrell.
Adverse possession is when a person can claim a piece of land if they live on it and take care of it for a certain amount of time.
In Texas, they have to occupy the property for eight to 10 years.
But the neighbor insists this was all a simple mistake.
"It was my stupidity, I thought it was my property," said the neighbor.
He promised to remove all of his things from the land as soon as possible.
"I'm going to clean everything up," said the neighbor.
Cockrell and her husband are giving him 30 days before they consider legal action.
"I just want people to know, this can happen," said Cockrell.
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