Taking things from house

[ssmdem]

Am I biting myself in the behind by doing this? Our house will eventually be foreclosed on. We will be moving back into our rental property. There are items I would like to swap out with the rental property and this house. All of them were purchased with our own funds and not included in the mortgage, so I have no guilty feelings about doing so.

Custom closet systems that my dad built for the closets - this will leave no closet racks in the closets though.
Cabinets that we installed in the laundry room - leaving no cabinets there (not necessary - but will leave the installation holes in the wall).
Will need to purchase a new dishwasher for the rental property -- but could trade out current dishwasher and put old dishwasher in this property - very obviously won't match though. One is white / other is stainless.
Taking refrigerator with us (that's common around here with moves so no issue there)
Lighting - will reinstall old lights from rental but again, very obviously won't match.
We're taking the blinds with us.
Interior doors have been upgraded and if easily swapped out would like to do so.
Would even like to trade out cabinet hardware.

NOW - all that being said -- I want our names off the title ASAP so we can buy another home as soon as possible. So, should I not - is this going to make the home difficult to sell? We're talking a high end, 3000 sq ft home - many upgrades. Nothing we're doing is damaging the property at all - but it is going to make it less appealing. Should I just suck it up and leave the stuff as is -- except those closet systems (they're not optional - PawPaw made those for the kids!)

[lrprn]

There are items I would like to swap out with the rental property and this house.

Normally things that are attached to the house usually stay with the house. However, as long as each of the items you take out are replaced with the same type of item (the replacement item doesn't have to be the same value as what it is replacing though) and you don't damage the property getting the items out and leave the damage unrepaired, you should be fine taking what you listed and replacing them before vacating the house. You will have to replace the racks in the closets and the laundry room cabinets with something equally functional though.

Ask your attorney to be certain that everything you plan to take and replace with a lower value replacement is ok in your state.

[ssmdem]

Normally things that are attached to the house usually stay with the house. However, as long as each of the items you take out are replaced with the same type of item (the replacement item doesn't have to be the same value as what it is replacing though) and you don't damage the property getting the items out and leave the damage unrepaired, you should be fine taking what you listed and replacing them before vacating the house. Ask your attorney to be certain.

Not planning on leaving anything unreplaced or damaged (love this house too much to mess it up) -- just know that buyers are going to look at the light fixtures and say, "Really?? Someone really thought that looked good there?" I guess my main concern is if it will impede the sale process. If we've got to leave, I want it done quick and out of our names as soon as possible.

[ssmdem]

You will have to replace the racks in the closets and the laundry room cabinets with something equally functional though.

The closet racks I can see -- but the cabinets - really? We're talking upper cabinets that were just an afterthought for extra storage. Couldn't we just repair the holes where the screws were?

[ssmdem]

I guess what I'm getting at is this - is saving MAYBE $2500 at the new property worth losing any potential buyers? Or do you think it would be a non-issue with buyers? I know me - it wouldn't bother me in the least as I'm going to re-do everything once I get in there anyway. Hubbie wonders if we're going to a lot of trouble and costing ourselves time in the long run. There's already so much about this house that was never completed -- exterior doors have never been painted - only primer. Crown molding - still needs painting and caulking. No landscaping anywhere - just grass. We just ran out of money and could never really complete the house. It's nothing that's noticeable - the primer is white, so people don't even notice unless I mention it - although it drives me insane. Buts lots of little things already that need to be done to really finish it off - so this would just add to that list I guess.

[Flamingo]

I guess what I'm getting at is this - is saving MAYBE $2500 at the new property worth losing any potential buyers? Or do you think it would be a non-issue with buyers? I know me - it wouldn't bother me in the least as I'm going to re-do everything once I get in there anyway. Hubbie wonders if we're going to a lot of trouble and costing ourselves time in the long run. There's already so much about this house that was never completed -- exterior doors have never been painted - only primer. Crown molding - still needs painting and caulking. No landscaping anywhere - just grass. We just ran out of money and could never really complete the house. It's nothing that's noticeable - the primer is white, so people don't even notice unless I mention it - although it drives me insane. Buts lots of little things already that need to be done to really finish it off - so this would just add to that list I guess.

A real estate agent could probably give you all the information you need as to your situation so there won't be any issues.

[lorrieduke]

I don't understand why your fussing over this in the first place. Maybe I'm not getting it but I thought as long as the title was in your name, the house was still yours.. That being said, I would think you could do what you like with it in regards to swaping out things. I mean, it's not against the law is it? As far as it selling, if it goes to auction and doesn't sell, it becomes the banks problem, not yours. And I"d be leary about asking a realtor anything because they will most likely tell you whatever they think will get them the sell because don't forget, they are only in it for the commission.

[imbroke2]

Well, I was told that we can't take the lights. But what we're doing is we are taking the nice ones we like and replacing them with cheap ones-who cares what the they look like as long as there are lights in there We are replacing them before pictures are taken though. But I think I may have a little battle with them over the stove; I was told we could take the refrigerator, the washer and dryer only. But then the girl was assuming the stove was stainless steel, which it's not. We only paid maybe $500 for it, so I'm taking it! So they deduct that amount from what they're going to give us, I don't care. We had all that installed after we bought the house, so I says it's ours.
I say who cares what the replacements look like as long as there's something to fill in the empty holes (lights) and appliances (if need be). There are many people who buy places and replace things with their own anyway.

[lorrieduke]

Our "notice of sell" said the property was going to be sold "as is". I don't know.. if someone came to my door and wanted to take pictures, I'd tell them to take a hike because the house is still mine until title is transfered. Right?

[imbroke2]

Well, we're working on doing a deed-in-lieu so this is why we need someone to take pictures of the property and send them on to the mortgage servicer. Our realtor that helped us find a rental is going to be taking the pictures. Otherwise I think they send someone from the mortgage place or someone associated with them. If we were doing a straight foreclosure, you're right I would tell them to take a hike

[LoadedGuns]

Our "notice of sell" said the property was going to be sold "as is". I don't know.. if someone came to my door and wanted to take pictures, I'd tell them to take a hike because the house is still mine until title is transfered. Right?

Si.

[ssmdem]

I guess my original question was misunderstood -- honestly it wasn't whether I could legally take them. It's my stuff - purchased outside of the mortgage - I have no qualms about taking it. It was more "is this going to make the house take longer to sell?" If it takes an extra two months to find a buyer because people are looking for a move-in ready home, then it may not be worth it to me to swap out some of the stuff.

[willsurvive]

If this is an eventual foreclosure why do you care? Also, are you filing bankruptcy, or have you already? Once those are answered I think we can help you more.

[bulletproof77]

If the house is going to be foreclosed on, it will be out of your name and possession after the the trust sale. It may very well sit vacant for months or years. After all, it will belong to the bank and they will do with it what they will. My foreclosed home has been vacant for a very long time. Sooo..why would you care what any potential buyer thinks ? Any future buyer will just go on price anyway. After you leave, a commercial "trash out company" enters the property and strips pretty much anything that is not nailed down, so take what you feel you want to take. Just don't do any damage to the house in the process. I wouldn't worry about any future buyers and what they think. Personally, as far as my old house, I can't wait for someone to think they got a great deal on my former "upscale" home and find out the gunite pool is cracked and leaks...That ought to be a hoot..

[ssmdem]

If this is an eventual foreclosure why do you care? Also, are you filing bankruptcy, or have you already? Once those are answered I think we can help you more.

Yes, we will be filing - surrendering the house. I care because I want it transferred out of our name ASAP so we can start that 2 or 3 year post-foreclosure clock to start ticking before we can get a new mortgage. I do not want to be renting for years down the road. And our rental property that we are planning to be move back into for now is not in the area we want to be in - it's way too small and cramped for our family -- I lived in it for three years before, that's about as long as I can handle it.