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personal belongings

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in need

Junior Member
Sellers Furniture and belongings

:confused: What is the name of your state? Florida

We aquired our first house for rehabing by way of Quit Deed and paying a mortgage company 4 months of late payments.

We started the rehab one week after signing the papers. The previous owner , who had not lived there for 2 yrs , started complaining that the furniture was getting dusty from sheetrock dust and people were sitting on her furniture.

We dealt with the complaining for 4 weeks. Seeing that we couldn't get her to move their belongings , we then rented a POD and we put their belongings in it .The POD sat in the driveway of this property for 4 more weeks. At the end of what now has become 8 weeks , we called the husband to come and get everything. He was happy to do so and payed me back the money that I had spent on the POD.There were things in the garage,normal garage stuff . No vehicle.

She and her husband have been seperated for 2 yrs but are still legally married.No one has lived in the house for 2 yrs. .The judge gave her control of the house and contents long before we came into the picture. She had let all the bills and everything go and the house was up for foreclosure.

We're now being sued for allowing the contractor to dispose of the garage contents and for giving the husband the POD contents.

Should I worry ? Do you think I will have to compensate her for anything ?

In my opinion , since she wouldn't move the belongings , the husband was the other rightful owner. The stuff was too nice to throw away .

Is there a law that gives the control of the belongings to the new owner after a period of time. Nothing is written on the Quit Deed about the removal or ownership of the belongings.
 
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danno6925

Member
I say you owned them already and sold them for a song!

Do you think I will have to compensate her for anything?
IMO, Unless an agreement specifically stating otherwise was signed and notarized by both parties, you can argue that anything left in the house was owned legally by you on the date that appears on the deed. As these items were legally yours to dispose of as you saw fit, you did exactlty that. If she wanted them back so badly, why would she not attempt to remove them before the home was no longer hers to enter?

Hell, you even tried to be a nice guy about this, but she's a moron who wouldn't pay her bills on time and never acted in a timely fashion - as her foreclosure so clearly illustrates - in doing anything as far as you know through your experiences with her (except complain).

Since the husband already knew about the property settlement terms that were agreed upon and you didn't, and he knew said items were hers, then it should be up to HIM to return the items to her and pay any damages she's seeking, not you.

That's my 2 cents
 

in need

Junior Member
in need

Thanks danno**************

This is our first attemp at buy/selling for a profit and this lady has created all kinds of grief..and to top off things , she will soon be my son's mother-in-law !
Your opinion is greatly appreciated....!
Do you think I'll need a lawyer for this or will the judge be able to see thru her bs ....
Its my first time having to deal with the "legal system"
 

danno6925

Member
Wow. Can't say I saw that coming. You'll definitely want an attorney to review your position to determine your liability exposure regarding the distribution of the POD's contents to the husband. Should make for an interesting wedding...:rolleyes:

Good luck.
 

in need

Junior Member
Danno.....since I paid for the pod and put my/her belongings into it ......shouldn't I be allowed to remove the belongings from the pod if I wanted to ?
And if I became the new owner of the belongings when we signed papers on the house, shouldn't I be allowed to get rid of them in any way that I see fit ?:confused:
 

justalayman

Senior Member
Danno.....since I paid for the pod and put my/her belongings into it ......shouldn't I be allowed to remove the belongings from the pod if I wanted to ?
And if I became the new owner of the belongings when we signed papers on the house, shouldn't I be allowed to get rid of them in any way that I see fit ?:confused:
You do not get ownership of the personal property when taking title to real property. Floridas laws are a bit confusing on this but gnenerally there are time limits during which you must hold the property free from harm. After the prescribed time period you can dispose of the property as the law allows.

I could not find Florida statutes regarding this type of abandoned property.

Was title to the house deeded to you by the husband and wife or just the wife?

If it was just the wife, you owe her if you failed to follow Floridas laws regarding the personal property. If it was the husband and wife, you may escape but will probably have a hard time proving you did not know it was only the wifes stuff. You speak as if this was common knowledge.
 

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