Taking 'property' form house when leaving

[AngelinaCat]

I don't blame you for wanting a truly fresh new start!

Good wishes to you in everything you do.

[drowning123]

Wow, this is an interesting thread. When the time comes, I don't plan on taking anything even though I bought the stove, washer and dryer. I'd have nowhere to put them anyway, plus, actually, I want a true fresh start. I've even cleaned up the basement and the attic. I paid for stuff to be hauled away. I'm definitely not taking any furniture. They're old and I have a bedbug infestation. LOL. Seriously. I think they came with the furniture. I'm working on it. Those I'll leave for the new owners of the house. LOL. I'm literally walking away with my clothes and electronic items. I think I may want new kitchenware - pots, pans, dishes, etc.

[kingfisher]

Hmmmm. We installed central air after purchase. Can I have it professionally unhooked and move with it since we paid for that?

fk

[etechjc]

Everything we took, we installed and payed for. House was a foreclosure when we purchased it. And there is no lowering of the property values, We lived out in the country on acreage. You could barely even see our house from the road. None of it matters, I was told that a week after the mortgage company supposedly secured the house squatters broke in, Lived there for about a week, vandalized everything and tore bunch of the plumbing and copper out of the walls.

[tobee43]

hub, yes, we had many good memories in that house, it's simply not in our nature to destroy anything. i get upset when someone tears down a tree..LOL as you well know ;)
we wanted to leave with some respect and our dignity intact.

i do have to agree with frogger on what's happening down here anyway...approx 6 doors down there are two houses both in foreclosure. they are across the street from one another. one has been for sale for sometime. as rumor had it, the previous owners had ripped out the entire a/c unit. so, no one gave any mind to the fact that a air and heating repair truck was in the driveway for two days...........until when on patrol my dh who's the vp of the hoa and the president were doing a security check on the houses and found out they had been completely stripped within those two days from the people with that truck!!!!!!! no way of knowing what was going on, as the president was telling us the bank was working on the house to prepare it for selling purposes??? NOT!!!

they took everything, every last thing that was even nailed down. the kitchen cabinets, the FLOORS!!!!!!!! they pulled up all the titles!!! the carpet??? what is with these people.

unreal and very scary! this area usually has little to no crime. the consensus is that this was an "inside" job, someone in the area that knew the houses were vacate.

[frogger]

Most will not take copper that is obviously pieces of air units nor will they take catalytic converters.

Perhaps not in your area, but in our area, the scrap yards are participants in the criminal activity. They will get your id, but they will also buy your scrap and crush it before anyone has a chance to id what you brought in.

The scrap yards in our area are just as guilty as the original thieves......

[AngelinaCatHub]

yes des, i do i want to reiterate my response to this thread.

what we took was indeed NOT attached to the house .no light fixtures or anything like that. we left the kitchen, oil burner (although brand new)...i even swept and the house was absolutely clean as could be... and washed all the floors etc. we took pictures of every room to make certain no one could get back to us and say this was ripped up or stripped. to this day, if i could have, we would have taken the shed, as it was not considered a permanent part of the structure in our township. neither was the spa we sold. anything taxable was not touched.

we did take our stove and frig, but they were old, paid for, and didn't come with the house when we purchased it, and we didn't have the money to replace them. we knew they had little or no value to anyone but us. additionally, they were NOT attached to the house.

when looking in this area to buy last year we saw stripped homes. and i mean stripped. the a/c units and ducks ripped out of the walls, the toilets, the sinks. one had the entire kitchen missing including the wall tiles. now that was destroyed! it was a mess. we saw many homes like that.

You did the right and moral thing, Tobee. I would do this out of respect for the house and the life we had in it. The Mortgage company did not cause a BK and is not responsible for lack of payments. Why punish them by will full destruction.

With the amount of empties we are getting, I am seeing more and more broken windows and lack of compressor units. It is a shame that people chose to steal other peoples property. Every scrap yard in our County requires a picture ID now when recycling metals. Most will not take copper that is obviously pieces of air units nor will they take catalytic converters.

I believe that these houses will one day either be razed or sold as a rebuild it yourself project. Some houses here are being used to party and dope smoke. 'Hub

[helpmeout]

We left our house Empty, took the sheds, Appliances, Kitchen sink, bathroom sinks and vanities, Ceiling fans, Light fixtures, Sold the HVAC for $400, Sold the hot water heater for $60, Sold the Deck and playhouse that we had built earlier, We even took the sat dish down. I figure whoever buys the house is going to re-do it all, So I figured we were doing them a favor as the emptier it is the better.

I did however cap all the plumbing and generally weatherize the house.

The bank is probably going to be able to come after you for the fixtures that you took. You are probably okay with the satellite dish and playhouse and possibly the shed but everything else is a fixture (with the exception of the fridge). And should have been left.

[tobee43]

yes des, i do i want to reiterate my response to this thread.

what we took was indeed NOT attached to the house .no light fixtures or anything like that. we left the kitchen, oil burner (although brand new)...i even swept and the house was absolutely clean as could be... and washed all the floors etc. we took pictures of every room to make certain no one could get back to us and say this was ripped up or stripped. to this day, if i could have, we would have taken the shed, as it was not considered a permanent part of the structure in our township. neither was the spa we sold. anything taxable was not touched.

we did take our stove and frig, but they were old, paid for, and didn't come with the house when we purchased it, and we didn't have the money to replace them. we knew they had little or no value to anyone but us. additionally, they were NOT attached to the house.

when looking in this area to buy last year we saw stripped homes. and i mean stripped. the a/c units and ducks ripped out of the walls, the toilets, the sinks. one had the entire kitchen missing including the wall tiles. now that was destroyed! it was a mess. we saw many homes like that.

[AngelinaCatHub]

Waste is a term used in the law of real property to describe a cause of action that can be brought in court to address a change in condition of real property brought about by a current tenant that damages or destroys the value of that property. A lawsuit for waste can be brought against a life tenant or lessee of a leasehold estate, either by a current landlord or by the owner of a vested future interest. The holder of an executory interest, however, has no standing to enforce an action for waste, since his future interest is not vested.

There are several different kinds of waste under the law.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waste_%28law%29

[despritfreya]

We left our house Empty, took the sheds, Appliances, Kitchen sink, bathroom sinks and vanities, Ceiling fans, Light fixtures, Sold the HVAC for $400, Sold the hot water heater for $60, Sold the Deck and playhouse that we had built earlier, We even took the sat dish down. I figure whoever buys the house is going to re-do it all, So I figured we were doing them a favor as the emptier it is the better.

What you have done is committed the tort of "waste". Your lender or its insurance company has the right to sue you for destroying the property. In some states you have committed a crime. Better hope no one goes after you.

Quote from a recent article. . .

"What Happens to (Those) Who Strip Their Homes? According to a representative from Downey Savings and Loan, it's the insurance companies that are most likely to pursue and prosecute (those) who vandalize or strip their homes while in foreclosure. When the bank receives title to the home through foreclosure proceedings, many banks submit an insurance claim to the existing insurance company to cover damage and missing real property items. Insurance companies then actively go after the (prior owner) because the company has faced a loss due to the (prior owner’s) intentional behavior. Believe me, insurance companies are relentless, committed to collection and will prosecute to the fullest extent of the law."

And on the criminal side, you might want to Google "Man in Surprise, Arizona Arrested For Stripping Home." That’s the one I am familiar with. I am sure there are many others.

Very dangerous territory.

Des.

[AngelinaCatHub]

We left our house Empty, took the sheds, Appliances, Kitchen sink, bathroom sinks and vanities, Ceiling fans, Light fixtures, Sold the HVAC for $400, Sold the hot water heater for $60, Sold the Deck and playhouse that we had built earlier, We even took the sat dish down. I figure whoever buys the house is going to re-do it all, So I figured we were doing them a favor as the emptier it is the better.

I did however cap all the plumbing and generally weatherize the house.

Hate to say it, but what you did is tantamount to vandalism. The rule is; if it is attached, it is an improvement to the house and by law is part of the house. Example, a washer or dryer you purchase is portable and unplugs. A dishwasher built under the cabinets is a permanent fixture. A window air conditioner is portable, a central heat and air is not. A fan if replaced with a light is a squeaker.

Taking any integral part of the plumbing or electrical is foraging. If a refrigerator purchased outside of the mortgage and is not built in, it can be removed. If included with the house at the time of purchase, it is not yours, it is part of the house.

Doing this kind of move out could have repercussions or even launch an AP. I would advise anyone if they are giving up the house, better take only your property not attached physically or legally to the house. 'Hub

EDIT: A house does not belong to you until the last payment is made, and you have a Satisfaction of Mortgage in hand. The mortgage holder has an interest in it called a lien. The house also becomes property of the BK estate if you have filed before abandoning the house.

[newbie2]

We left our house Empty, took the sheds, Appliances, Kitchen sink, bathroom sinks and vanities, Ceiling fans, Light fixtures, Sold the HVAC for $400, Sold the hot water heater for $60, Sold the Deck and playhouse that we had built earlier, We even took the sat dish down. I figure whoever buys the house is going to re-do it all, So I figured we were doing them a favor as the emptier it is the better.

I did however cap all the plumbing and generally weatherize the house.

Did your home come with the kitchen sink and bathroom sink when you bought it? How about the HVAC and water heater?

You didn't do anyone a favor. With your home missing those items you lowered the value considerably, and your neighbors will suffer for it. A home without those items cannot qualify for a mortgage (unless it's one of the rehab mortgages). I'm sure your neighbors would thank you for lowering the values of their homes even further.

[etechjc]

We left our house Empty, took the sheds, Appliances, Kitchen sink, bathroom sinks and vanities, Ceiling fans, Light fixtures, Sold the HVAC for $400, Sold the hot water heater for $60, Sold the Deck and playhouse that we had built earlier, We even took the sat dish down. I figure whoever buys the house is going to re-do it all, So I figured we were doing them a favor as the emptier it is the better.

I did however cap all the plumbing and generally weatherize the house.

[cory1848]

My lawn shed is listed on my mortgage and property outline. Appraisal listed it as $3000 value. I wouldn't pay $300 for it. Well, maybe I would brand new. It has electricity to it for a light so can't complain. It will be staying with the house and not being sold. Not worth selling and since its on the deed, it stays.