So I am a realtor and things have been going well, I get many 1st time buyers and many short sales/foreclosures to keep me busy. One in particular was with these people that were behind on payments, didn’t really care and I stepped in to educate them & help them sell in a short sale to save some credit points as opposed to a full foreclosure. We had an offer right away that didn’t come together due to buyer financing…then I worked for 9 months showing the home, marketing it in 4 different publications ($65 each ad several times) and 7 different websites to finally get another offer. By this time the owners had moved out & left an old couch & all the 2 year old appliances. I call them over and over to tell them about the offer...almost two weeks later (after I've looked like an ass in front of the buyer for not being able to get the sellers to sign or even call back) the owner calls me and says "oh, well we really don’t care about the condo anymore, we filed bankruptcy and just want to move on" …so now that I've spent hundreds on marketing, MANY hours battling the bank, they screw me over…all he had to do was initial 7 places and sign ONCE. WTF! Anyway….so is it stealing if I sell off his newer appliances on Craigslist and use the $$$ for mods?! I thought about just taking them since the bank will repo the house very shortly but I figured for sake of my real estate license I should at least tell the owner.

 

Are the appliances yours? No. Is it stealing? Yes.

 

I'd say go for it. That's the last income you'll receive before jail though.

Seriously though, the appliances are not yours even though your clients screwed you over. It happens in your business a lot, and it will not be the last time. Consider a life and learning lesson and move on to provide better service to your next clients.

 

Oh I know, I was kidding about taking them without saying anything. Re-read the post, I would never jeopardize my license and livelihood over appliances. If he doesn't care about the place I'm just trying to figure out how to break it to him that we can sell these off.

 

Write a contract that says "Seller is selling all his appliances to <you> for $XXX" Then have him sign it and take the appliances.

 

stealing

 

Perfect idea! The last buyer even offered him a $250 gift card & I offered him a steak dinner to come in to sign the paperwork and he wouldnt take it! who knows.

 

Well, legally, the former owner of the place may no longer be able to give you those appliances.
The fixtures are now property of either the bank or the bankruptcy estate and Bankruptcy Trustee, depending on laws regarding fixtures in your state-- either those fixed appliances stay with the bank's real property, or they are personal property which is part of the bankruptcy estate.

 

Thanks. Yeah I think they're right in the middle stage between having the bankruptcy completed but also just days away from a repo on the banks behalf. The bank knows they are filing so they cant act on the property now but they will soon. Too much hassle & risk.

 

I thought that if the items are not physically attached to the structure the appliances are still "personal property" and not "real property". If that is true then the personal contents (appliances included) are still property of the old owners, unless they have chosen/signed off on losing the house AND all remaining contents as part of the bankruptcy. At least that's how I thought the law is written in CA but IL may be different.

Call, visit the old owners, ask them if you could have the appliances for yourself. Perhaps even offer to buy them at a reduced rate... but whatever you do, do it in person, and have them sign off on it.

Good Luck.

 

There place looks great compared to some foreclosures I've seen. They have hardwood floors, nice doors & trim, new carpet, nice cabinets, etc. I have seen foreclosures where the people actually trash the place, remove the flooring, remove the kitchen cabinets & almost NONE ever have appliances. The rules vary in every state.

 

:thief:

 

Are you owed money for the work you have done?

 

Let it go. For the few hundred bucks you would get it isn't worth the headache.

 

Well if you read the Listing Agreement for the state of Illinois it does clearly state that the seller is signing this with intent to sell and will entertain offers and attempt to work with them...but Illinois also says you of course can not force someone to sell. Laws were written to protect the sellers when the market was hot, now they are written for the buyer protection since 75% of the homes you show are foreclosures or short sales.

 

When we filed for the business we had to list every single thing we owned on the filing. From jewelry to electronics, to shirts, pant, and shoes.

There are federal guidelines as far as exemptions for certain categories, etc... but, if you cannot protect those items with your exemptions, or you use your exemptions on other items, you lose them.

"Lucky" for us it was business related so it really wasn't an issue, but if someone is foreclosing on a house I'd have to imagine the bank and/or court are going to want anything in the house they can get their hands on.


I'm surprised they're willing to foreclose. Most people welcome the opportunity to do a short-sale just to save their credit score/history...

 

Yes....


(I didn't read any of this)...