Personal Property in a Foreclosure Property

Personal Property in a Foreclosure Property

Agriculture · Grand Island, NE · Member since 2013 · 9 posts · 2 votes

My business partner and I bought a foreclosed property on Monday and settled the next day with the trustee of the sale.  The deed was then mailed to our home and we will file it this week.  It seemed like a cut and done deal with one little snag.  Once we were able to get into the property it is filled with personal belongings.  Not to mention garbage cans of cat and dog poop and mountains of garbage and food!  The owner fell ill and from what we understand was taken by ambulance but never returned home.  She was single and doesn't have any living family (that we know of)  to take possession of her things.  There is a car in the driveway, furniture, sewing kits galore, and some family heirlooms.  There isn't much of value inside but there is a set of china that could bring some money.  She hasn't lived there since March of 2015 and no one has been back. The utilities have all been cut.We've searched the records and can't find an obituary for her.  Our lawyers and realtors do not have a solid answer as what we do with the personal property.  Is this stuff ours?  Can we dump it? Do we need to post it in the paper for 30-90 days like an eviction?  Any advice?

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Broker · Logan, UT · Member since 2013 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
10y

In Utah, foreclosed holdover owner/borrowers become tenants at will.  So we treat personal property just the same way we would for a lease abandonment which including storage for 30 days.  We also video document the personal property before cleaning up.

Post foreclosure, if the owner is still living at the property (as opposed to a tenant with a lease), what is the legal process for removing them in your state?  That process should dictate the handling of personal property as well.

This isn't legal advice--just what I do.  To date, no one has ever come back looking for their stuff.

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  • Investor · Lubbock, TX · Member since 2015 · 308 posts · 106 votes
    10y

    Wild situation. I'm no attorney, but I'll take a risk and share what I think I'd do...

    I'd probably put all the valuables in storage for a few months, maybe a year. Then proceed with the house as if the owner were indeed gone for good. After a year, I'd sell the valuables.

    If the owner ever returns, I'd sit down with her, talk through the situation face-to-face, and try to find a reasonable way to do right by her.

    Just my $.02.

    Good luck!

  • Agriculture · Grand Island, NE · Member since 2013 · 9 posts · 2 votes
    10y
    Thanks Johnathan. Yeah we've called all the investors we know I the area too and everyone kind of scratches their head. I kid but it's a bit like storage wars and flip or flop all at once. :)
  • Financial services executive · Frederick, MD · Member since 2015 · 609 posts · 341 votes
    10y

    I would find a junk remover on Craigslist, have it all taken to the dump. Do that tomorrow or the first day you're legally allowed to take possession. Then send someone that you haven't blabbed this story to to change the locks. If anybody contacts you just say nothing and hang up. 

    It's extremely unlikely you'll be sued, but if you are furnish the lock changing witness to your lawyer. No need for you to go to court. Even if sued this is far cheaper than hiring movers renting storage etc etc you'll prevail in court because the plaintiff won't know who to ask the right questions to.

  • Broker · Logan, UT · Member since 2013 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    10y

    In Utah, foreclosed holdover owner/borrowers become tenants at will.  So we treat personal property just the same way we would for a lease abandonment which including storage for 30 days.  We also video document the personal property before cleaning up.

    Post foreclosure, if the owner is still living at the property (as opposed to a tenant with a lease), what is the legal process for removing them in your state?  That process should dictate the handling of personal property as well.

    This isn't legal advice--just what I do.  To date, no one has ever come back looking for their stuff.

  • Agriculture · Grand Island, NE · Member since 2013 · 9 posts · 2 votes
    10y

    Thanks for the advice.  I know that flipping is not an emotional process but it is hard not to feel for the gal when you are throwing away childhood keepsakes and birth certificates.  Even though she lived like a hoarder in filth, it's the humane side of you that wants to do her well.

  • Jay HinrichsBusiness Member
    Real Estate Consultant · Summerlin, NV · Member since 2014 · 45k+ posts · 66k+ votes
    10y

    Trent is pretty common when buying foreclosures ( courthouse) for there to be personal property left behind.  the one you bought sounds like someone passed intestate and no heirs.. 

    I know how you feel when you walk through and look at private items and or personal items.

    In those cases we just hauled everything to the dump... and got to work. 

    if the old owners are there are in contact of course we accommodated them on retrieving their items.

    I suspect in this case you would be fine and I personally would not store anything... from the description of circumstances you have laid out.

  • Agriculture · Grand Island, NE · Member since 2013 · 9 posts · 2 votes
    10y
    Thanks. Yeah we went ahead and filled a 30' roll off dumpster and I'm sure there will be two more. We held back what we could without taking too much time and pitched the rest. I think that'll give any heirs time to contact us before we pitch the sentimental items. Thanks for the advice.
  • Mindy JensenPro Member
    BiggerPockets Money Podcast Host · Longmont, CO · Member since 2014 · 7k+ posts · 10k+ votes
    10y
  • Agriculture · Grand Island, NE · Member since 2013 · 9 posts · 2 votes
    10y

    Mindy thanks. Tell me this, why does the previous owner of the home become a "tenant"? There has never been an agreement between the two parties on the usage of the home. 

  • Mindy JensenPro Member
    BiggerPockets Money Podcast Host · Longmont, CO · Member since 2014 · 7k+ posts · 10k+ votes
    10y

    @Trent Mettenbrink, I'm sorry. I misread the original post, and assumed it was a tenant rather than the previous owner. 

    That changes the answer quite a bit. I would assume that you have purchased the property as-is, and everything inside is now yours. You can throw away your own property as you wish. 

  • Broker · Logan, UT · Member since 2013 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    10y

    @Trent Mettenbrink

    Keep in mind that titled ownership and physical possession are two different things and foreclosure does not create an exception.  These laws were put into place to provide some degree of protection to occupants and vary state to state.  The foreclosed borrower could come back in two years looking for her stuff and the burden may be on you that you disposed of it properly.

    I agree with everyone here that hauling this stuff away should be fine, but technically, it's probably against the law.  I've never seen it be a problem after foreclosure, but have seen judgments against landlords after abandonments several times.  Our state has a provision for disposal of hazardous materials which we deem to include rotting food, animal carcasses, used diapers and everything else that is not sanitary.  

    If there's a garage or storage building on the property, we move everything into it and secure it.  After a statutory period we can drop a roll-off or pull a trailer up to it and haul it off in short order.  It rarely impedes our ability to start work on the main house.

    Either way, understand that just getting rid of personal property most likely has some risk.  Understanding what that is is what attorneys are for.

  • Agriculture · Grand Island, NE · Member since 2013 · 9 posts · 2 votes
    10y

    @ William Hochstedler

    Thanks for the reply.  Yeah the home is in a complete mess. I think we will take the chance knowing that she is in health and financial troubles and move on. We don't have access to an out building and the amount of garbage has filled 2 30' rolloffs.  The cats and dogs have peed and pooped on everything. It's almost a biohazard area. :) We are going to try to save any personal belongings but from what the neighbor told us she just up and left one day, checked her animals into the humane society and they never saw her again and that was over a 1 1/2 ago.  Storage for all of her stuff would cost a fortune. So I think we'll use the grey area and proceed ahead. It is unfortunate but with the way she was living and the unsanitary conditions of the house and think we'll be fine.  We do have the home registered and deeded to us at this time so there shouldn't be any problems that way.  Thanks for the input.

  • Member since 2019 · 1 post · 0 votes
    6y

    Is it not enough that this woman lost her home. My father is a flipper and use to uncaringly toss peoples things he used the loopholes to not have to be bothered and as a kid I hated having to throw peoples items out but I was his free labor. Some times it was obvious they were packed or in the process but he would say "easier to throw away" but it wasn't it was wrong. For those of you who uncaringly are just saying "toss it" and move on no one will know,  your kids will know trust me kids see more than you think. Your actions will one day come back to you. Is it really that hard to just put at least family momentos in the garage, it does not cost you anything and at least you made an effort. Someone always comes back. Someone taken to a hospital or having medical issues and alone does not have a lot of options but there does come a time that they try to retrieve their precious items. The judgement and callousness here is disgusting. Your attitudes are disgusting, you can be an investor without being a low life vulture but then my own father could not do it. This is why I paid for my own college and got as far away as possible I accept nothing from him and cut him out, what you do to strangers it is own a fine line you will do to someone close if you justify in your own mind. I hope he rots in hell for the pain he has dealt out. Your kids do as you do or they grow up and are disgusted by what they witnessed and cut you out of their lives. Bad times happen to people that is hard enough why would you make it worse.

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