Rental Property Investor · South shore, MA · Member since 2017 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
In a bit of a complicated situation..
When I bought the place it was sold as-is. Since the current tenant in place is a realtor, she was aware of what that entails. Upon signing a 3 month lease they mentioned the washer and dryer being theirs, so i removed the washer and dryer addendum from the lease. Come to find out, it was the sellers.
The tenants received a notice of non-renewal a while back, and are scheduled to be out by the 6th.
Now what do I do? Do I have any recourse in this situation? Do I just let them go and be done with it without stirring up the pot?
Real Estate Investor · Plumas county, CA · Member since 2011 · 150 posts · 88 votes
7y
I would let this one go....Its probably not worth your time to try to prove anything in small claims court. From now on dont supply a washer/dryer.
I should add that the one time I did supply them for a tenant they were a 'gift' from a friend trying to clean out a storage unit. I provided them as a 'courtesy' for that one tenant and specified that I would not repair them if needed. Two years later they did need repairs and tenant decided to junk them and buy her own.
Real Estate Investor · Plumas county, CA · Member since 2011 · 150 posts · 88 votes
7y
I would let this one go....Its probably not worth your time to try to prove anything in small claims court. From now on dont supply a washer/dryer.
I should add that the one time I did supply them for a tenant they were a 'gift' from a friend trying to clean out a storage unit. I provided them as a 'courtesy' for that one tenant and specified that I would not repair them if needed. Two years later they did need repairs and tenant decided to junk them and buy her own.
Rental Property Investor · Northern, CA · Member since 2012 · 5k+ posts · 5k+ votes
7y
What does the sale being “as is” have to do with it? All that generally means is the seller isn’t willing to make any repairs. It doesn’t give the tenant any right to take property that’s not theirs.
What if the tenant was planning to take your stove or your fridge or a light fixture? Would you just let them?
If you know and can prove the washer and dryer do not belong to the tenant, I’d let let them know that if they take these items I’d be deducting the cost of them from they’re security deposit.
Rental Property Investor · Salem, OR · Member since 2017 · 696 posts · 660 votes
7y
@Brian Ellis Unless we are talking super high end stuff I would let it go. Otherwise, you are talking about trying to prove that the seller bought them with the intent to NOT have them go to the renter etc...not worth it for used washer and dryer.
Investor · Greenville, SC · Member since 2016 · 5k+ posts · 13k+ votes
7y
Its not complicated. Notify them to leave your washer and dryer and then file a police report if they steal it (or any of the rest of your appliances and fixtures).
Rental Property Investor · Upstate, NY · Member since 2012 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
7y
We had a similar situation. We sold a property just as we found that both the washer & dryer were starting to malfunction & the dishwasher had to have been a '70's beta edition.
Those 'helping them' to move removed the washer/dryer & old dishwasher, but left the newer fridge?? Saved us the trouble of removing & replacing & the buyers accepted $500 cash as compensation instead of losing the deal. I assume the buyers wife was pleased as she probably appreciated the age & condition of the absconded appliances.
Worst one was many years ago when the evicted tenants went to the trouble of draining the furnace oil tank into 5 gall containers.
Rental Property Investor · South shore, MA · Member since 2017 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
7y
@Matt K. The house was sold through the court system, the owner lives in Florida. I had no contact with them so I went back and checked the listing. Only the range and refrigerator were included on it.
Rental Property Investor · South shore, MA · Member since 2017 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
7y
@Mike Dymski I’d love to, this information is based off of a neighbor speaking with the seller directly in front of me. The current tenant is aware of the situation regarding the sale of the duplex. It was sold as is through the court system. I had no contact to the seller previously. And the listing stated a range and refrigerator. Would you still advise I do that?
Rental Property Investor · Salem, OR · Member since 2017 · 696 posts · 660 votes
7y
@Brian Ellis You could just come out and say, hey I found out those were purchased by the old owner and are therefore part of the property, so unless you can show proof that you bought them they need to stay. See what they say to that.
Real Estate Investor · Plumas county, CA · Member since 2011 · 150 posts · 88 votes
7y
Seriously..look into the price of this used stuff..If they left you a useable stove and fridge and removed the washer dryer.....they probably saved you the hassle of moving them yourself. Are you planning to provide a washer dryer in the unit? Then get one that you can depend on.
Madisonville, LA · Member since 2018 · 125 posts · 71 votes
7y
Man that would erk me that they are trying to be snakes like that. I would just come in strong and tell them look these were not yours and were included in the sale of the property. If they resist I'd just let them know Whether it was listed in the listing or not it's the reality of the situation and if you take them I will be filing a police report and will go to small claims court and include all associated costs I incur in the claim.
I dont know that just because it's not in the listing that you have lost leverage. Typically whatever is owned by the seller becomes the buyers upon transfer so you immediately owned them upon sale unless stated otherwise so the renter should have no right of possession there. It's not like the seller put them outside and the renter can then claim possession. It went from the buyer to you.
I dont know the legality there but that would be my stance. If after telling them that they still took it. I would probably just look into it and then decide. In all reality it may not be worth pursuing because you can get those appliances off craigslist for a couple hundred bucks. But I would make them think I'm gonna come after them for it.
Rental Property Investor · South shore, MA · Member since 2017 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
7y
@Sam Shueh the lease stated “Lessee May use existing washer and dryer for lessee own use, provided that lessee shall be solely responsible for repair and maintaining such washer and dryer”. But was revised prior to signing, that “lessee provide own washer and dryer”, since I was told by them it wasn’t the sellers. I don’t plan to go back on my mistake, or get the seller involved since they didn’t want to be involved from the start. My gut tells me to just move on and learn from this. But I’m getting mixed feedback, and would want to do exactly what successful investors here would do. I plan to stay in this for the long haul.
Investor · Missoula, MT · Member since 2015 · 242 posts · 177 votes
7y
@Brian Ellis
I think it all boils down to why are you upset about this? When you thought the washer and dryer were owned by the tenant did you have a problem with buying new ones for the next tenant? It seems like the only thing that changed is you now feel like they deceived you. Which they did, don’t get me wrong. But, you are not going to be paying any money that you weren’t already expecting to pay and we’re okay with paying. I would just leave it alone. If they want to be dishonest, that is in them, but you are already okay with spending the money.
Rental Property Investor · TN · Member since 2018 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
7y
I would be honest with them and tell them that you found out from the past owner in a conversation with a neighbor that the washer and dryer belonged to the past owner and upon the sell of the house to you that the washer and dryer became your property. Tell them that since you learned this information the SAME washer and dryer should remain in the home when they leave. Tell them that should they remove the washer or dryer then you would be obligated to explain this situation to anyone who inquired about their past rental history and you would subtract their value from the deposit you have for the rental.
I would not tell them I was going to court or going to call the police over this as really you have no 'proof' and the time to get that, and the aggravation is not worth the value of used appliances. But maybe the reputation of your renters is worth something to them.
Rental Property Investor · Portland OR · Member since 2018 · 2k+ posts · 3k+ votes
7y
I would just be honest with them and say “ hey i found out the W/D belonged with the house. I would appreciate it if you left it behind. If you can prove it is yours pls let me know.”
Rental Property Investor · Erie, PA · Member since 2018 · 6k+ posts · 9k+ votes
7y
You removed it from paperwork so you’ll have to just take it on the chin . Don’t do that again . You’d have little recourse in a court situation especially after tenant proves you took that off the addendum. Move along and learn from it
Rental Property Investor · South shore, MA · Member since 2017 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
7y
@Dave Passey you are spot on, I didn’t care before until a neighbor brought it to my attention. I think it’s more of being deceived that aggravated me. Id basically be causing more problems if i brought it up and made a fuss about it. It will be a blank slate when the next person moves in.