Purchased property from an Auction with need help.

[Gainet M.]

Two months ago I purchased a house from auction.com the person who lost the property still has there belongings inside but do not reside there. I need to start renovating, what should I do? Any recommendations would help, thanks. Any recommendations would help, thanks.

[Brian Burke]

@Gainet M., whatever you do, don’t follow the above advice that you can do what you want with the former owner’s personal property. I suspect that in most states that is absolutely not true. Check your state laws carefully.

You need to get competent legal advice on how to proceed. First there is the issue of gaining possession of the property (no, just buying it doesn’t mean you can take possession and change the locks!).  Details are important.  Can you tell if there is food and clothing in the residence?  If there is no bed, refrigerator with food, a bed, then there’s no way to “live” there and you might be able to take possession of the residence and change the locks. Or you might need to post an abandonment notice and wait for a period of time before taking possession. Or you might need to file an eviction and wait to get possession until the sheriff delivers possession after a judgment. Follow your lawyer’s advice.  If you do it wrong you could get sued. 

Once you get possession, you still have to deal with the personal property. Your state might have a value threshold such as $500 or $1,000 where if the stuff is worth less than the threshold you can trash it or convert it to personal use. But if it is worth more than that amount you have to follow a process as outlined in your state’s law which could include sending notices and holding a public auction. Follow your lawyer’s advice carefully here, too, and be sure to document what is there with an inventory list, photos, and video.