NY Eviction: 165 days ago. Now she wants her abandoned property

[Stephen Zipp]

I got an email from the tenant's lawyer yesterday stating that she wants her abandoned property. It has been 165 days since she was evicted. She never showed for the appointed times to retrieve her items and after 30 days we sold the items to recoup some money or the months of lost rent (the reason she was evicted). Anyone else have any idea of what I should do?

[Nathan Gesner]

LOL! Now that's funny!

Since the issue has been resurrected...

I would not respond to an attorney in this situation. The burden of proof is on the Tenant. I would start by saying, "I don't remember this tenant or any abandoned property. Sorry!" Then force her to spend another hour providing some evidence to the attorney for a second letter or file in Small Claims court. Most attorney letters are warning shots to see if they can scare you into action. If you stand up to them, professionally, most of them will disappear. If she sent another letter with actual evidence, then I would consider hiring an attorney to respond His response would explain how I met the legal requirements for handling abandoned property, but I still would not send evidence because that gives them more opportunities to find holes or problems with your process.