Making $$$ of abandoned cars.

[Larry Bowers]

A tenant abandoned a junker car. Rather than just give it away to a scrap yard , someone might pay me $100 or more for it.

Some of you veteran landlords have surely dealt with this before. Any recommendations based on experience?

[Nathan Gesner]

Quote from @Larry Bowers:

A tenant abandoned a junker car. Rather than just give it away to a scrap yard , someone might pay me $100 or more for it.

Some of you veteran landlords have surely dealt with this before. Any recommendations based on experience?

It's happened about a dozen times. Sometimes it will be worth the trouble, sometimes not.

You can check with Dept. of Transportation to see what the law is for abandoned vehicles. You typically have to fill out a form requesting a Title Search. They will attempt to contact the current owner and get them to remove it. If they refuse, then DOT can give you authority to file for a new title in your name. Once you have the new title, then you can sell it.

My last one was a motorcycle. I believe it cost around $60 and a month to get everything filed and approved before I could sell it. I sold it for $250 as a parts bike. Another was a car that cost me $100 and I ended up scrapping it because I couldn't find a buyer.

Another legal - and simple - option is to pay a towing company to pick it up. You pay the towing bill ($65 in my town) and let them deal with the abandoned title and trying to make a profit.