What If..

[Greyhound]

We are due to take possesion of another house in a couple of weeks.The vendor is in a very poor state of health,and is unlikely to survive.His niece and nephew are handling the sale from another part of the country.Though highly unlikely,there is a possibility that they won't have the house 'cleaned out' by settlement date.Does that mean we get to keep EVERYTHING left behind-couches,food,clothes etc?
I thought they would've done it by now incase the uncle had a couple of zillion stashed away.

[duncan macgregor]

What are you a greyhound or a bloodhound?. Always do the right thing my friend. macdunk

[Greyhound]

quote:Originally posted by duncan macgregor

What are you a greyhound or a bloodhound?. Always do the right thing my friend. macdunk

The right thing is something I would always do Mac.But I'm buggered if I'm going to be out of pocket for removal fees etc.,not to mention the considerable inconvenience it would cause.

[duncan macgregor]

GREYHOUND, You tell us the man is in a bad state of health unlikely to survive. Distant relatives that might not care beyond the point of what can we get out of it. The poor bastard what a way to go he now has a dog snapping at his heels. Get stuck in and help the man out greyhound it will do you the world of good. macdunk

[artemis]

Hang about macdunk, the poster asked for some info not a lecture on ethics.

Greyhound, if that was me, i would call the vendor's solicitor and ask what they want to do, and what they want you to do (and let your legal people know the result). Chances are it will be very straightforward.

I would call myself rather than get my solicitor to do it, partly for cost reasons but also because solicitors talking to each other do seem to make things more complex than they need to be.

You may also want to post your question on propertytalk.com where there are a lot of experienced property investors.

[Greyhound]

Thankyou for your answer ARTEMIS, and thanks for the advice.I'm sorry that Duncan has a feeling that I'm trying to 'rip' the poor old codger.Nothing could be further from my mind.

[minimoke]

We hade a similar situation – except the vendors were moving into an old folks hospital for the very ill. The rellies came into town and cleared everything of any value out and left the junk. We simply loaded it all into numerous trailors and after about $500 in dump fees we finally cleared the house out. We couldn’t see the point in asking about anything – the relies obviously didn’t want the stuff, the vendors had no use for it and the solicitors fees for determining a correct legal approach would probably have added nothing except a further dent in our bank balance.

[artemis]

If there is time to sort out the issue before settlement, then the question of what happens to anything left behind can be included in that. A purchaser can (should) do a pre purchase inspection, and decline to settle if the property is not what it was agreed to be.

$500 for dump fees, plus all the extra effort and hassles at an already busy time, is a PITA! Better to get agreement beforehand. While the purchasr is still holding the chequebook.

Mind you, if that old mattress has someone's life savings tucked away in it ....

[Greyhound]

No need for any phone calls.The people are up and packing away merrily.Better not take anything they shouldn't.
Thanks for the advice though.