PLEASE HELP!!! Personal Property Left Behind After Closing

[Karin Torbenson]

I purchased my first investment property in Chelan, Washington in December of last year. It is an owner contract deal, no agents or lawyers involved. The seller is a neighbor at another property that my boyfriend owns so we would like to stay on good terms with him if at all possible.

Here is the problem... the house was FULL of his stuff. The house, garage, shed and crawlspace were all completely packed full. Since this is a "buddy deal" we were naive, and too trusting and didn't stipulate a timeline for removal of personal property in the contract. We helped him pack all of the stuff in the house and made two 80 mile trips to move his stuff with our pickup truck and trailer, with no reimbursement for fuel. We remodeled the interior of the house, working around a boat that was in the living room (yes, you read that correctly, a boat... in the living room) for about 3 months. Now the remodel is almost complete and we are going to be ready soon to list it on Airbnb. There is still a camper and a bunch of junk in the yard, the shed is still full, the garage and crawlspace still have some things in them. We are both at our absolute wits end. I feel that we have been MORE than lenient and reasonable. We have not only given him 7 months, but have helped him move stuff as well.

My question is when it comes down to it (and it will) do I have the right to sell these things or give them to charity? I am not looking to charge him for storage or disposal. (His only income is our house payment, it would be a waste of time trying to get any money from him.) I just need this stuff gone ASAP. In a few weeks when this place is ready I will be losing $200 a night in prime tourist season as a result of his junk in my yard.

If anyone has any experience dealing with this type of situation your advice would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!