The idea that a total stranger could sell a house you own without your permission, pocket all the proceeds, and then blame you for making his life a “nightmare” sounds like the plot of a movie.
But that is exactly what happened to a U.K. resident named Colin Curtis, according to Metro UK.
The property originally belonged to Doris Curtis, who died in the 1980s and left her house to her son, Colin. Mr. Curtis moved out in 1996 to live in another inherited property but continued paying the tax on the Newbury Park house in East London.
In 1997, a man named Keith Best noticed that the house was vacant and started renovating it. Best said he spent about $188,000 renovating the empty three-bedroom semi-detached house, eventually moving his family into the house in 2012.
Best then filed an adverse possession claim to become the registered owner, according to The Daily Mail.