Reno couple uses law to acquire home for fraction of the value
RENO, Nev. — A Reno couple is using a little-known law to take possession of an abandoned home in an older, upscale part of town where similar brick, Tudor-style homes are selling for more than $400,000.
The Reno Gazette-Journal reports Vickie and Jeff Francovich paid $6,500 in delinquent property taxes on a home in Reno’s Newlands Heights Historic District and started fixing up the home to move in.
Vickie Francovich says the cost of the repairs and taxes was more than the house was worth when they found it in 2012. Zillow estimates the house is worth more than $500,000 today.
Instead of buying the house from the owner, the Francoviches took advantage of a law called adverse possession that allows anyone to trespass and seize an abandoned property after meeting certain criteria.
