A man living in a home in Long Island has tried to avoid paying his mortgage for about 20 years. He will probably still live in the home without paying anything after a judge ruled in his favor. There has been a significant backlog in the number of cases that have been heard in courts in New York. The home that Guramrit Hanspal has lived in was foreclosed on in 2000, which means that the 52-year-old is considered a squatter.
There have been three owners of the home who have all tried to file for eviction to get Hanspal removed from the home. He has won each case and has even filed lawsuits of his own against the owners. Hanspal has filed for bankruptcy at least seven times after purchasing the home in 1998 for over $290,000. He has only made one payment on the mortgage since the purchase.
A sale is pending on the home, but due to the court backlog, Hanspal might be able to stay in the home a bit longer before the eviction process is complete. Until a final decision is made, the sale is on hold and might not go through at all if the judge does decide to side with Hanspal as has been the case each time he’s been to court in the past. One reason he has been able to stay is due to the automatic stay rules in the state that prevent collection efforts from debtors.