Purchased tax lien house - what to do with previous owners stuff??

Question

Hello from Alabama. I'm just curious if anyone else has ever run into a situation where you bought a tax lien property but it was full of the previous owners possessions, although in this case the house has been vacant for a whiler.

I purchased a home via a state tax auction. The home was sold by the state past the 3 year right of redemption so I have a real deed (not just a tax deed) to the property. Nobody has lived in the home for at least the past two years (I live nearby and have been watching the place) but a lot of their belongings are still in the house.

I went into the house right after purchasing it and it is disgusting and currently unlivable. There is dog poo at least an inch thick from one to the other end of the house. A neighbor told me that the previous owner left a dog pinned in the house for about six months to keep anyone from breaking in and that they only fed the dog through a broken window and let it just drink from the toilet. A little irony here is that I've tracked down the previous owner and she works at a local vetinary clinic.

Anyway, my question is what can I legally do with the previous owners stuff that's in the house now? There's some furniture which will have to be taken to a dump due to the dog, a large piano and rooms full of just "stuff" (pictures, dishes, clothes, toys, etc).

When I first bought the place, I removed a storm window to get in the place and left the front door unlocked. I went by a week later and the window was put back on the front door locked again. I assume that the lady doesn't know that she's lost the place yet.

Can I just stick a note on the door stating to stay out of the place and to contact me within 30 days to get the stuff or it will be discarded or do I HAVE to contact her to come get the stuff? Or have I just become a landlord and now I have to evict her even though nobody actually lives there?

Any help is greatly appreciated!

Jon Holdman · Answer

You really do want to have a chat with your lawyer.  Most likely, you now have a tenant who's covered by all relevant landlord/tenant laws.  You will probably need to start the eviction process in order to take possession.

Steve Babiak · Answer

Actually, in my state (PA), you are NOT a landlord in this case, and an eviction would not be the appropriate course of action.  In PA, an ejectment and quiet title would be the approach taken.

Regardless, you seem to have two separate things going on here.

First, getting the occupants "out" - or gaining possession.  Local practices and rules are what need to be followed, so it might be a good idea to contact an attorney on this.  It might be an eviction matter, or it might be called unlawful detainer, or it might be called something else.

Second, once the people are "out" of the place and you have possession, then you have to determine how the abandoned personal property is handled.  Again, local practices and rules need to be followed.

Joel Owens · Answer

There are personal property disposal laws that VARY state by state.

So someone in a different state might not apply and even from your own state might not know the law correctly.

I wouldn't have put that I went into a window to gain access.

You need to talk to a local eviction attorney well versed in property disposal laws.

It might look like crap to you but people sue everyday whether they had real value of items to lose or not.

Ann Bellamy · Answer

Definitely talk to an attorney.  Laws vary, and since you aren't sure of the ones that apply in your situation, find out before you take an action that a court could take issue with if the previous owners filed a complaint or lawsuit.

Kyle Meyers · Answer

I have been trying to research this question as well. I have some tax liens, don't have the deeds yet, but I will be getting deeds at the end of the year.

As I understand the law in Indiana, there are a few things that can happen when you get a tax deed.

1. The property is unoccupied and empty. This is the best situation because you can get to work right away. Change the locks and start fixing up anything that needs it.

2. The property is unoccupied, but has property inside. You must reasonably assume the property is abandoned which I would try to figure out by asking some neighbors and looking around. If it seems to be abandoned, you have to follow the laws in your state about disposal/storage of abandoned personal property and any required notification to the owners.

3. The property is occupied. In Indiana, this makes you a landlord. I would get in contact with the occupants, my new tenants, immediately. I would try to get a feel for their situation and whether I think I would like to consider them as potential tenants. If I want them as tenants, I would ask them to fill out applications and put them through the normal screening I do. If not, I would evict them ASAP. If the occupants are the former owners, I would make sure they understood that they did not own the property anymore and try to figure out why they let it go to tax sale, I don't think I would want to keep former owners as tenants.

It sounds like you may have become a landlord. I don't think you can assume the property is abandoned because someone locked up the door and fixed the window. I would not recommend ordering a dumpster or changing the locks without talking to a lawyer. You may want to try to get in touch with the former owner and see if you can work something out, cash for keys kind of deal. Getting her out by agreement will be easier than evicting.

Good luck and let us know what you find out.

Ralph S. · Answer

Legal beagle stuff aside (which you really need to do), I wouldn't approach them at all.  See how fast they come to you.

Introduce yourself to ALL the neighbors, give them your contact information, get the sad story you may not know, like how this all came to be, and let them know what has happened (you now own the place).  Tell them how you've been watching the place, too, and about your interests in buying it, and what your plans are.  Chances are, someone you talk to will be fairly good friends with the old owners, and they (the neighbors) will be on the phone with the old owners before you get to the next house.

Let the neighbors break it to the old owners if they don't already know.  Let them hear it from a friend, not a letter or a phone call from someone they don't know.  Having them say you seem like a nice guy could go a long way when the ice is finally broken.

Post whatever notice on the door that is required by your state that you will be entering the premises.  Even landlords can enter, inspect and repair with proper notice.  Probably isn't more than a 12 or 24 hour notice.

Cut the lawn, do some yard work.  Change the locks, get the utilities turned on, shovel some poo, check out plumbing, electrical and so on.  Post your name, address and phone number in a window.

If anyone has any interest in the contents, you'll know sooner than later and maybe all the legal fears are just fears.

Not a lawyer, but hopefully one won't be needed, either.

George P. · Answer

Congratulations on getting the house. Did you have to wait three years to clear the title? If so, I wonder how did house values change in the area? Does the house still has value? What do you plan on doing with it (old, flip etc) ?
Thanks

Steve Babiak · Answer

These statements of yours indicate that the previous owners are still in possession of the property.  Your main objective now is to gain possession of the property, since you already have the deed.

Figure out what you have to do in that part of Alabama to gain possession first.  Maybe that same action will also allow you to dispose of the personal property left behind, but it might not.  So then you have to know how to deal with abandoned personal property (assuming that the previous owners don't take it with them when they are told to forfeit possession).  I have in the past bought the personal property for a token sum (using an agreement of sale for personal property that was signed and notarized), in order to throw it into the dumpster without losing any sleep.

Joel Owens · Answer

You still need to go through the procedural steps to CYA.

The eviction shouldn't cost that much.

I would rather be safe than sorry because when you are sorry it costs much more than playing it safe.

Ryan Keith · Answer

Thanks for the replies! It looks like a visit to an attorney is certainly in order which I kind of expected but I thought I would ask other opinions anyway.

I live near the house and have been stopping and checking on the place for the past year or so. The power has been turned off for at least a year and the yard is grown over. I also talked to the neighbors on either side who both told me that nobody had lived there for a long time.

I didn't actually know if anything was in the house because all of the windows have sheets or towels over the inside of them.

It's very obvious that nobody is currently "living" in the place or hasn't lived in the place in some time. They just left a lot of their stuff in the place.

Based on the fact that it's clear that nobody is actually in the place and hasn't for a while, I wasn't sure if a landlord/tenant relationship exists with me. It looks more like an abandoned property situation but I'm no lawyer obviously.

To expand on my original post a little - I bought the place from the state who had actually recovered it due to back taxes from a nationwide real estate investment company who had bought it through a tax auction from the person who's stuff is still in the house. So, technically they haven't really owned the place in about 7 or so years. It just looks like the real estate investment company never bothered to evict them and they finally moved out a couple of years ago. They just haven't returned to get the rest of their stuff. I'm not sure that they even know that they lost the place years ago. Now they're just treating it as a storage building apparently.

Thanks again!

Purchased tax lien house - what to do with previous owners stuff??

Most Popular Reply