What things have you found in foreclosed/abandoned houses?

What things have you found in foreclosed/abandoned houses?

Mechanicsburg, PA · Member since 2013 · 3k+ posts · 2k+ votes

In the thread about the TV show Property Wars, it was brought up about things found in and on foreclosed property.

1. In a recent one there was the last occupant's ashes. I called the relative to come get the ashes. I've found lots of dead or live bodies but all were critters, mice, squirrels, rats, snakes, all kinds of insects, ground hog, possum, skunk, and even found a dead cat. I never found any dogs but one person told me they found a dog chained in the yard and another told me that they found a live dog locked in the house. I didn't see that dog but did see all the evidence that the dog left.

2. I found major parts of cars and cycles, and a few whole cars but nothing of any value or nothing even running.

3. The most of the money that I ever found was change, some coins and there always seems to be lots of pennies on the floors for some reason.

4. A friend of mine says that there are always tires at these properties, and for the most part that seems to be true. This last one with the person's ashes did have the obligatory 1 car tire on a wheel, which the trash company won't take if it has the wheel attached.

5. I've never found any gold or silver, and very few currency, usually some cash in an envelope, or stuck in cards or books. I do lots of reading but I never use currency as a bookmark.

6. Often times there are some tools, but they usually are incomplete, inoperable, or abused. Recently I've found some cordless power tools but strangely enough they almost always are missing the batteries.

7. I friend recently bought a foreclosure and took out three 30 yard dumpsters of trash from the house. They only thing that he took home with him was one extension cord. He say that was lightest haul he ever had from a foreclosed house and he remarked at the irony of this house having so much tonnage, but so little usable stuff.

8. One house that I got was vacant for 15 years, and have everything still there, clothes, furniture, shoes, and all personal items and even a car in the garage. There was even food in the frig that had been there for 15 years with the electric turned off. There were pots in the frig with leftovers and all the food was black, unrecognizable blobs. The odor was one I'll never forget, I almost gag just thinking about it.

9. Usually the stuff left behind is mostly junk and trash, things that are broken, or missing parts.

10. Several house were so over grown with trees and shrubs that you could not see the house from the street. One house I couldn't find because the house was overgrown as well as the dirt driveway.

11. Another place was owned by an alcoholic who hadn't cut his grass in 5 years. The grass was about 4 feet high and looked like a hay field. The people mowing the grass kept hitting whiskey bottles and beer cans scattered all over the yard and hidden in the tall grass.

What kind of treasures have you found in foreclosed/abandoned houses?

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Wholesaler · Salt Lake City, UT · Member since 2009 · 1k+ posts · 401 votes
13y

Man are you guys making me relive past problems. My greatest find was in a foreclosure we bought to rehab and when we removed one wall we found it full of old time big bills, gold and silver coins, jewelry and other goodies. Now I had found out about California's treasure trove law years before, and finds like this were considered the property of the previous owner.

The age of the money made me think the previous owner was not the true owner so we started to research it and found out the owner had been born in that house and lived in it here whole life. She had no living relatives and had be dumped in a county contracted dying home that should have been condemned. Well it was a fortune and we handled everything after getting a guardianship, and she was able to be located into a fine convalescent home for her final years and to create a will to leave her estate to charity.

I felt very good about that but I have to confess my first thoughts were to hell with the previous owner, and how was I going to spend all that money but I could hear my mother's voice saying I will never be ashamed of you if you do what is right, advice given to me when I did something wrong and developed a ton of quilt and wanted to fix it.

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  • Investor · Jacksonville, FL · Member since 2012 · 68 posts · 7 votes
    13y

    recently found a family of about 10 rats, alot of old computer cases and old video games...

  • Rehabber · Chicago, IL · Member since 2013 · 12 posts · 1 vote
    13y

    Bought my first SF foreclosure in 2003 and it was an incomplete house. Walls were all up, but the past owners recently gutted the whole house and then I guess planned on remodeling but never did. After purchasing, we finally got access into the garage which was locked up, boarded up, and nailed and screwed shut only to find all the materials needed to finish the entire house! I had planned to spend $25k on the rehab and used about $3K of that budget instead. That was my first and last great find.

  • Flipper Mostly · Redwood City, CA · Member since 2012 · 107 posts · 26 votes
    13y

    I found a big safe hidden and cemented under the flooring in one house..

    It took me 2 full days to grind the lock out and all I found in it was lots of metal shavings :-(

  • Mechanicsburg, PA · Member since 2013 · 3k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    13y

    new updates:

    We got a house that was packed with all kinds of stuff. The former owner passed away maybe 4 or 5 years ago. The family apparently came and got anything of value, but there is so much stuff left that every room was packed.

    Some people came and got all the furniture, about 6 truck loads. Some other people came and got the metal scrap, about 5 truck loads. And we hires a company to de-load the rest of the stuff in the house, so far we have filled three 30 yard dumpsters, so the end is in sight.

    We also took about 5 truck loads to donation, There were clothes brand new with tags, brand new shoes still in the boxes and I estimate at least 100 purses, non with any money in them.

    The neighbors are pleased with the progress we've made so far.

    Another property we just got deceased owner about 15 years ago. the electric is still on, and I have no idea who is paying the bill. Everything and I mean everything is still in the house, furniture, clothes, dishes and food in the frig. Also the grass hadn't been cut in 15 years.

    There wasa another recent thread here on BP where somebody was lamenting not being able to find anything for sale. Just look for places where the grass hasn't been cut in 15 years or houses that haven't been lived in for 4 - 5 years. Hey, it worked for me!

  • Deborah BurianPro Member
    Rental Property Investor · Oklahoma City, OK · Member since 2013 · 1k+ posts · 412 votes
    13y

    Mental health records/journals, some nice artwork from the '50s, antique sewing machine and my favorite... a box of puppies.

  • Lender · Greater LA/Orange County area, CA · Member since 2012 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    13y

    Live cats - code enforcement estimated between 40 and 80, and promptly cited me the day after I purchased the house, despite the prior owners status quo for many years.

    Very next deal: 35-40 cats w/ cat boxes. I know, I know, smells like money, you say. My nose hairs are just now growing back (deals were about 5 years ago).

    Full size safe, sitting door-side up. Just trying to upright it was a challenge. Of course, the back had been breached and it was empty. Just part of treasure hunting.

    And then there was the call I got from a friend who had purchased a one-half, undivided interest in a property from an out-of-state woman who claimed the other owner had gone missing for some time. Our ensuing conversation was about how to find "Fred" or otherwise clear title. And then, the second call. They found "Fred." In a back room full of bags and boxes of junk, "Fred" had been dead for a very long time.

  • Rental Property Investor · Upstate, NY · Member since 2012 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    13y

    We just bought a property with a very large barn packed with old equipment etc & a very old convertible looks 1920's era. Doors & windows are boarded up except for a gap we put ours arms through with a camera.
    We take possession in 30 days & the elderly out of state owner says its all yours but said the barn hasn't been touched for 14 years.
    The old doors we found in the basement are 9 ft x 4 Ft wide a piece & they appear to be the pocket doors missing between the living rm/dining rm & they are in good condition.
    The ground floor has two large master baths & the staircase & hardwood floors are amazing. Then there are the two closets with stairways to nowhere!!!

  • Real Estate Investor · Portland, ME · Member since 2012 · 6 posts · 1 vote
    13y

    Recently finished a renovation on the first floor of a triple decker that we bought last year. I was taking down the nasty, water- and smoke-stained dropped ceiling panels in the bathroom when I felt a bit of resistance on one of them. My first thought was "ewww...a dead animal's up there", so I used a broom handle to push up on the front edge of the ceiling tile. A (rather pretty, I have to say) glass hash pipe fell onto the floor. Fortunately, it didn't break. I took it home to show my husband, and worried the entire 40 minute drive that I'd get pulled over and the sheriff would find the pipe, buried deep among the cleaning supplies in the back of my minivan. :-)

    I thought that was kind of exciting - until I got to the other end of the bathroom, where I pushed up a ceiling tile, and a man's wallet fell on my head. No cash or credit cards, but it had a still valid Maine driver's license and an expired AAA card in it. I found the owner on Facebook; turns out he's FB "friends" with the previous tenant (a college student). I'm thinking the wallet most likely was swiped from the guy at a party (apparently, there were quite a few parties held there), emptied in the bathroom and then stashed in the dropped ceiling. I don't think it was the tenant who lifted it, but most likely one of his "guests." (There was a series of roommates that didn't work out for various reasons, which is why he decided to find a cheaper place he could afford on his own.)

    I called it quits after that, and made my husband do the rest of the ceilings in the apartment, but he didn't come across anything unusual, just a lot of dirt and crumbling plaster. :-)

  • Specialist · Houston, TX · Member since 2012 · 579 posts · 301 votes
    13y

    Nothing of much value but did get quite a laugh out of a handwritten tracking chart I found on the wall of a house. It looked like something a prisoner would scratch on his cell wall to count days. First column was titled, "Days We Fought" with a few tick marks and the 2nd column said, "Days We Didn't" with tons more marks!

    House also had Camo wallpaper!

  • Investor · Chicago, IL · Member since 2013 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    13y

    Two days ago I found a house and when I went down the basement...there are MUSHROOMS growing on the floor. Needless to say, I did not try to see if the mushrooms are edible :-)

  • Mechanicsburg, PA · Member since 2013 · 3k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    13y

    Wendell De Guzman

    Once I bought a two story foreclosure, that I could not get into before the auction. (Chapter 53)

    When I finally got inside the house, I was rather sick. The roof had been leaking for a long time, maybe years, in the second floor rear bedroom. The water went through the second floor ceiling, the second floor hardwood floors, the first floor ceiling and the first floor vinyl flooring before leaking into the basement, where it went down the floor drain. The second floor drywall ceiling collapsed onto the floor and on top of the wall to wall carpet, which was soaked for years and growing mushrooms.

    The house was a bank foreclosure and was vacant for 7 years, who knows how long the roof was leaking, but I could not see the roof from the ground as it was a low pitch roof and in the back of the house with an exposed basement the roof was 3 stories off the ground.

    It would have paid to have a ladder or a roof inspection, but you can't inspect thoroughly every foreclosure house going to auction.

  • Lenexa, KS · Member since 2012 · 7 posts · 1 vote
    13y

    dont forget Two half decayed cats

  • Orlando, FL · Member since 2013 · 22 posts · 2 votes
    13y

    A large garage packed full of crap. The only odd thing that really stands out were the boxes and boxes of toothpicks. All the rooms inside the house were pretty much empty except for the room that belonged to the previous owner's son. He left behind a ton of sports/ entertainment magazines... and we also found his porn stash in the closet.

  • Investor · Fort Lauderdale, FL · Member since 2012 · 1k+ posts · 465 votes
    13y

    My last short sale property besides trash I found inside the closet below the AC handler HUNDREDs of unused tampons.

  • Landlord · Flat Rock, MI · Member since 2011 · 179 posts · 26 votes
    13y

    One house I looked at but did not buy: A stack of Playboy magazines hidden in a heating vent. When the furnace was stolen, the magazines were no longer hidden. I'm kinda surprised the thieves did not grab the magazines on the way out.

  • Contractor · Franklinville, NJ · Member since 2013 · 183 posts · 86 votes
    13y

    Pulling down a ceiling I had a box of used needles drop beside me (luckily not on me). However, my favorite is finding old pictures of people taking them home and then putting one or two up on friends refrigerators mixed in with their family photos.

  • Real Estate Investor · Rancho Mirage, CA · Member since 2013 · 2 posts · 0 votes
    13y

    I've found everything you can imagine from dead animals starved in crates to a closet filled with Louis Vuitton purses, cars, motorcycles, Rolex Watches, thousands of dollars, gold jewelry you name it.

    the thing is I was working for banks, lenders, government agencies and people like you, investors.

    Did you know that in the state of California if there is personal property remaining after tenancy of any type valued at $700 or more, it must be sold by a professional auctioneer.

    1000 Gram Silver Coins in a house with $1 million in abandoned personal property

    My company provides valuation services to appraise the contents of foreclosed homes with most coming in well under the $700 threshold.

    But it's not what you the investor wants its what the law says so if there is a good washer / dryer refrigerator, stove, appliances and furniture then it must be sold at public auction.

  • Mechanicsburg, PA · Member since 2013 · 3k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    13y

    @William Burke

    I never found the treasures that you did. Last house that I rehabbed, got somebody to take the furniture, got somebody else to take the scrap metal to recycle, and still got THREE 30 yard dumpters out of the house.

    There was no cars, vehicles, cash, jewelry, antiques, guns, or much of any value!

  • Investor · Fernandina Beach, FL · Member since 2012 · 95 posts · 14 votes
    13y

    Hmmm - I only have 1 foreclosure auction buy under my belt. It must have been a good one though - I got a white Dior suit that fits me perfectly and a bunch of brand new clothing with tags in various sizes that fit my daughter perfectly from 4 months thru today at 16 months. It was all located in the garage and I could tell the tenants held a last minute garage sale.

    I've also gotten plenty of furniture from my rental units too (i'm clearly not picky lol). Usually tenants tend to have older furniture - which, ironically enough, was built to a higher standard than todays mass produced stuff. As a woodworker I can make quick work of rehabing these pieces and.... that's where we've gotten a lot of furniture for the house!

  • Investor · Riverside, CA · Member since 2011 · 2k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    13y

    Most of the time, I never look at the houses I buy. I tell the contractors they get to keep whatever they find and please don't tell me. However, over the years, I've seen a few of them and have picked up a few souvenirs;

    2 turtles in a tub in a house out in Palm Springs - let them go in the golf course pond near my house.

    Very large pig at a ranch in Hesperia - I asked my Hispanic contractor if he liked carnitas, then showed him the pig. It was gone the next time I went up there.

    Pumpmaster pellet/BB gun and a tupperware of BBs. It is here in my office. Found a muzzle loader, but gave it back to the seller. She was really happy to have it. I bought the house from her, but her ex-husband died there and left it to her and it was a complete dump. I guess the gun was her's originally, but thought her ex had sold it.

    A very cool living room lamp from the 60s in the garage of a hoarder house. It is about 4' tall and glass. Hard to describe, but it is totally Austin Powers and is in my sun run. That same house had a very bad *** upright piano that my contractor took for his daughter.

    A very old car. No idea even what it was. I gave it to a guy in exchange for hauling all the other trash out of the garage.

    A really old CocaCola beach cooler. Don't remember where I got it, but Rick Dale from American Restoration said it is worth about $850. I emailed him pics. It is sitting in my office as well.

    A crazy Chinese warrior looking statue from a Chinese flop house. I put it in my pick up truck bed and delivered it to my brother when I drove across country. This is the only house I ever found porn in and it was all this fat girl porn. There were piles of books and pictures taped on the walls. I bought the house from a Chinese guy who owned a Chinese restaurant. The house was were he had is staff living. There were 2-3 mattresses in every room. Man, those dudes loved their husky white women!

    Coffee table and 2 matching end tables. Very old with some kind of granite slab tops. In my living room. After we closed escrow, I found them in the garage. I took them home. The seller's son called me looking for them. They stiffed me on the rent (it was a sale/lease back for 2 months). I told him they're gone. The next day my contractor said the garage man-door was kicked in. I also learned to withhold any rent in escrow from that deal.

    Brand new heavy bag. Hanging in my garage. Like any exercise equipment fatties buy, it was obviously never used. Now it gets its *** kicked on a regular basis.

    Lots of potted plants. I only take the ones with really nice ceramic pots. I have two large glazed red pots that I saw at a local nursery priced $150 each.

    Recently found a 1907 Indian head penny. I was doing a walk-thru and it was sitting by the baseboard.

    A really old black Royal typewriter. It was in the carrying case and is in perfect condition. Looks like something a reporter would have had back in the 20s or 30s. I almost left it, but then figured if I ever knew anyone that was into writing, they might appreciate it as an office decoration.

    I also have a brand new washer, dryer, and fridge in my storage facility. The guy bought them, then left them in the house. Still had the manuals and factory tape on them. I thought they would be good for one of my rentals, but haven't used them yet. I did put my dead cat in the freezer part of the fridge after he died and while I was waiting to take him to be cremated so, I guess it has had some use..

    Other than that, the best thing I ever found was a huge pile of equity. Those are the best finds.

  • Wholesaler · Holiday, FL · Member since 2013 · 571 posts · 221 votes
    12y

    I found a very nice Parker double barrel 12 gauge and a dozen cases of goose liver pate' in one house. One time I found a set of new, never used, chrome exhaust manifolds for a 3.8 liter Jaguar. What was especially odd was that I knew immediately what they were as I was driving a 3.8 liter XKE at the time. Oh and I also found a single barrel 20 gauge shotgun with a plastic stock in the same closet as the Jaguar manifolds. And in another house, an estate sale, I found a 1937 waffle maker. Still in the very nice original box with the cord coil held with a long-since brittle rubber band. Inside the plates of the waffle irons was an unopened envelope. In the envelope was a nice note from the person who had given the waffle maker as a wedding present in 1937. A few sentimental lines to an apparent friend wishing her happiness, many pleasant breakfasts together, and asking that she report back how the first batch of waffles came out. <g> So I guess she knew that her gift had gone un-used.

    The waffle maker turned out to be from some very high-end appliance maker who had gone out of business in 1939 or 1940. I forget now what I got for it but it was a surprisingly large amount. I sold it because it made lousy waffles. <g>

    stephen

    ------------

  • Douglas LarsonPro Member
    Rental Property Investor · Salt Lake City UT San Diego CA Daytona Beach, FL · Member since 2008 · 410 posts · 337 votes
    12y

    Wow, it sounds like everyone finds good stuff but me! . . .

    My most recent home (bought through an estate sale) netted me about $30 worth of empty beer cans and a few dead rats!

    Have fun and Make Your Own Luck!

  • Shelli CallanBusiness Member
    Real Estate Broker · Kalispell, MT · Member since 2013 · 67 posts · 20 votes
    12y

    We found a dead cat and a dead bird under the house we just bought. So far 3 knives.  And someone came in before we got there and cleaned up for 10 hours!  We have take 1,000 pounds to the dump so far, I think we have a couple more to go.

    Shelli Callan with ADT Realty Campfire Realty Group
  • Flipper/Rehabber · Elkhart, IN · Member since 2014 · 197 posts · 41 votes
    12y

    We have done literally 100's of trash outs. The ones I dislike seeing are the ones with tons of children's toys. One had a 12'x12' room with organized tubs stacked 3 high, and another room 5x10 with shelves of new toys never opened. For this place we let the client know we were calling Salvation Army to donate. The stuff filled half the truck to the ceiling. There are a few temporary housing facilities for displaced families we donate to also. Children's clothes and toys. After knowing of a meth house, I am going to be leery donating. We really don't know what has gone on in these homes before we get them. I always do let them know the items are from an abandoned home. Hoping they will thoroughly clean the items, but also hoping we are helping out a needy family.

    We have also found dead cats and dogs. A few rabbits, squirrels, lots of mice. Half buried dog. That place was a dump from front to back of 3 acre property. They must have never had a trash service and just took their trash bags out in the back hoping it would decay. One house had a large living room and dining room filled with empty pizza boxes and 2 liter bottles. The whole main floor was paths through that and good items. One house was filled with dog sh**. That was after another company did a trash out. 

    Most of the homes have crutches, and medicines from the prior owner. Those I feel for, but the ones where we find all kinds of boxes from new electronics I do not. 

    We have removed so many free weights and exercise equipment. It was funny the other day looking at a property to rehab, and saw 2 weight sets in front of the garage. The neighbor came over offering to move her truck out of the drive. She also said the weights were one of her subs and asked if we wanted them. It didn't take long to get a no out of both me and my partner. Interesting to run into another person that does what we do right next to an abandoned property. lol don't care to move weights around any more than necessary. Have had enough of carrying them up from basements in many houses. One house had lots of dildos and sex toys, objects and S&M costumes. That was difficult due to mixed company and all the ugh, and giggles that was going on each time more was found. 

  • Lender · Greater LA/Orange County area, CA · Member since 2012 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    12y

    Carton Sheets' "How to buy Foreclosure properties for pennies on the dollar" in pristine condition, shrink wrap intact.

    Dave Del Dotto - ditto

    Russ Dalby - ditto

    I did keep the book on mail order profits, 'The Lazy Man's Way to Riches'

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