Thread: Seller Left Their Junk...My Options?

Originally Posted by sci

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Can I be held liable to putting her things on the curb? Could she sue me? I REALLY appreciate ANY help!!!!!

Thanks!

I don't know whether she could sue you or not. There is a possibility. Especially that you never had anything in writing, right?

Every time I sell a house with the seller still remaining in the house at time of closing - I advise my buyer to escrow some money and to get it in writing: he can apply this money for the purposes of cleaning out the house, paying for storage, rent (if the seller does not move out as promised), etc. Your agent (or attorney) should have advised you... You are lucky you didn't have to start eviction procedings . Next time...

Thanks for your input! I really appreciate it. Yes, I did get everything in writing. The contract read that I would buy the house for x-amount, and she could remain in the house 30 days after closing rent free.

My question has to do with her stuff. When she left, she left a ton of stuff in the house. I had to pay $1100 to haul it off. I told her if there was anything she wanted to keep, to put it in the garage and come back and get. Well two weeks went buy and she never came to get the stuff out of the garage. By then, I had to have it cleaned out. So we put everything on the curb. So, could she sue me for that? Eventhough I owned the house? Or could I be held liable because I told her to put the stuff in the garage and come back to get it? I just thought since two weeks had gone by without her coming to get everything out of the garage, that she didn't want it. And since I had to have the house cleaned out, I put it out on the curb. I just want to know if she could sue me for throwing her stuff out...

Thanks for any and all input.

I believe that if she left the stuff behind and you have taken possession of the house on the contracted date, then the stuff is your to do with as you please. She had no contract to store the stuff at your property, and certainly didn't pay you anything to store it.

Unfortunately, this is another case of suffering because you try to be nice to someone. It's a harsh reality of business that if you give someone an inch, they'll take a mile. I've learned on each transaction that it has to be in writing that the tenants/owners/occupants will be out (including all their stuff) by a certain date and time, or there is a certain $$$ fee per day. And they don't get any money promised to them until that happens.

for example, if I take over a home sub2, and give them $1000 for the deed, the contract states the move out date and $100 thereafter if they don't move out and on that date, anything and everything left behind is now mine. If they move out a day late, then they only get $900, two days, $800, etc. It costs me money each day they're not out b/c thats an extra day of holding costs that I cannot work or show the house.

Good luck. Nothing I've said constitutes actual or implied legal advice. Always talk to an actual attorney for actual legal advice. (No really, I'm not an attorney, I don't even play one on TV)

I've noticed in some listings on bank owned property they'll mention that a vehicle is on the property or appliance left by the previous owner. They'll practically bend over backwards to note that the property was not conveyed with the sale of the home. Not sure if that means that you could be in hot water over disposing of the stuff but if everything is in writing I think you'll be ok.

I'm not an attorney and would advise you to seek professional legal advice from an attorney if you are truly concerned. That being said...

Can they sue you? Sure can! Does it mean they will? Does it mean they will win? NO! A little old lady sued McDonalds because she spilled hot coffee in her lap after leaving the drive-thru and won because McDonalds didn't have a disclosure on the cup. That's ridiculous but true.

You need to evaluate the chances that the prior owner will sue (do they even have the $$ to get an attorney), the chances that they will win, and the documentation you have to support your case. You can worry about it, but it doesn't make much sense to until they actually pursue legal matters.

You would have a better case if you had not given the seller the option of leaving the stuff in the garage. Unless you gave them a definite time frame that the items could be in the garage. Did you attempt to contact the seller? If you had attempted to contact the seller both via phone and writing, a judge would most likely see it your way.
As you can tell there are many different possibilities considering what was written, what your local laws are, and etc. Most of what I stated is going by what I know of evictions.
Personally I would not waste too much of your time worrying about this. And in the future, ask before you throw away their stuff.

Honeycomb Properties makes a good point -- anyone can at least attempt to sue anyone else. Trust me, as an attorney I see it all day long. There are sanctions on Plaintiff's attorneys, however, if they file what the court deems to be a "frivolous" claim. From what I've seen, that's a pretty low threshold, however. I've had several clients that have spent multiples of tens of thousands of dollars defending a blatantly frivolous claim. That's the exceptionally frustrating part about the justice system.

Anyway, regarding your question, it's difficult to tell whether or not you could be held legally liable. It's really state law dependent regarding personal property. In my experience, I believe it is likely that her property would be considered "abandoned," thus giving you all the right in the world to dispose of it as you please. Usually an abandoned classification requires a more extensive time period to have passed, but taking your contractual agreement and your phone calls to her regarding her stuff (especially when she returned a call confirming that she has been receiving your calls), I think you're likely in good shape.

Additionally, someone that narrowly escaped the foreclosure process is more than likely unable to pay for an attorney, so that should be an added level of comfort. The only way I anticipate the seller asserting a claim against you is possibly through small claims court -- but those proceedings are both informal, and common sense based, meaning you've got a good shot at prevailing. Plus, if the seller does indeed try to pull something shady like bringing you to small claims court, you can counter claim for your expenses in removing her crap.

i agree, being that they were going into foreclosure, i dont think they would bother suing you. and since they did move out and you took over the property then everything in the house is yours to do as you please. i wouldve have sent her certified letters to have prove that you did try to contact her.

We rented our house for six months to go West and check out living in Arizonia. After 3 months they stop paying rent. We paid that months and tried contacting them no response. After they missed the next payment we headed back and survey the damages and there were damages to the walls, trash everywheres, bicycle tracks up the wall, utilities turned off and spoiled food in refrigerator to the point we had to trash refrigerator. Oh yeah and we had a house full of furniture and old truck in driveway.

We found out from the neighbors they were gone for months that they split up and she and kids moved out first and they he did shortly after. We contacted there emergency contact numbers and got the parents who said they were dead beats and they were not gonna pay there bills. We waited one more month making a total of 3 months not occupied and then we loaded everything in the truck and called the family again and said if they want it to come and get it otherwise we dispose of it. Magically during the night it disappeared.

We just let it go and decided not to pursue legally since we felt we never get anything out of it except a legal bill.

We thought we picked a great family seemed so nice. He was a returning vet from vietnam war and we thought we were doing a good thing. He was employed.

I have to say I had an opportunity to rent again many years later and I declined and sold the property.

I to always wondered if we had to dispose of the items would we have gotten in trouble? It kinda resolved itself but we felt they broke the lease by non payment for 3 months and we had a right to move it then.