Boca mansion squatter served with eviction notice

Andre “Loki Boy” Barbosa was served papers seeking his eviction from the $2.5 million Boca Raton mansion he has been squatting in since late December, the Sun Sentinel reported. The five-bedroom home is located along an Intercostal Waterway canal in one of the most exclusive neighborhoods in Boca Raton. The house’s owner, Bank of America, wants Barbosa out.

Barbosa, 23, began staying in the house after invoking a Florida state law called adverse possession. Adverse possession allows someone to gain title to a property if he or she is living there openly, maintaining it and paying the taxes.

It is believed that Barbosa’s adverse possession filing on the mansion is the most valuable such claim in Palm Beach County in the last 10 years. Since the details of Barbosa’s possession attempt have become public knowledge, more than half a dozen similar claims have been filed.

A local lawyer whose practice has recently evicted two squatters, Gary Singer, said that he thinks the possibly outdated adverse possession law should remain on the books because it serves a purpose and promotes the upkeep of property. “It’s a useful statute and a good statute,” he said. “It’s been around for 700, 800 years for a reason.” [Sun Sentinel] – Evan Bleier