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 next door 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 me back."
Barbosa, according to records, is a Brazilian national who refers to himself as "Loki Boy," presumably after the Norse god of mischief. He did not return calls.
Someone with his name has been boasting about his new home on Facebook, even calling it Templo de Kamisamar
Barbosa also 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.
"The bank is taking this situation seriously and we will work diligently to resolve this matter," said Jumana Bauwens for Bank of America.
Sunrise real estate lawyer Gary Singer said Barbosa is invoking a state law called "adverse possession," which allows someone to move into a property and claim the title — if they can stay there seven years.
A signed copy of that note is also posted in the home's front window.
It's the most valuable grab since the adverse possession law started being used in a handful of cases that have popped up in the Palm Beach County Property Appraiser's Office over the past three years. 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 the day after Christmas to the home at 580 Golden Harbour Drive, but did not remove him. He presented cops with the "adverse possession" paperwork, according to the police report.
Houston said that the home had been empty for about 18 months. Property records show it was sold to a family in 2005 for $3.1 million. The deed is currently valued at $2.5 million, according to county records. The county appraiser's office lists th
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