Man Forced to Relinquish $100K Beach Property to Neighbor After She Invokes Obscure Law

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A man has been ordered by a court to give up the property rights on a $100,000 beachfront property in Delaware after the neighbor invoked an obscure law.

According to Delaware Online, in February, Burton Banks tried to sell his undeveloped beach property near Ocean View, Delaware, but he was met with a rather shocking discovery.

His neighbor, Melissa Schrock, had a goat pen on the property and claimed squatters’ rights. The judge then ordered Banks to relinquish the title to Schrock since she had a claim on it, and Banks lost over $100,000.

At this point you might be wondering, how can this happen?

It is due to a very obscure and controversial law regarding property rights in Delaware.

Delaware has adverse property laws, which allow a person to claim ownership of property that is not technically theirs if they have occupied it for 20 years.

In this case, Banks had sold a portion of the land to Schrock’s mother, who left it to her daughter. In 2021, Banks tried to sell the part of the property adjacent to Schrock’s portion but found animal pens that encroached on his property.

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