Personal property after real property sale

[draco]

What is the name of your state? New York

I bought a piece of machinery at an estate auction. It's in a building on the property. There was a lot of junk in the building, making it impossible for us to get the machinery out. The attorney for the estate said we could wait to remove the machinery until they cleaned out the building. Now they're selling the property, without removing the junk. Do we have any rights once the property is sold?

Thank you in advance.

 

[quincy]

What is the name of your state? New York

I bought a piece of machinery at an estate auction. It's in a building on the property. There was a lot of junk in the building, making it impossible for us to get the machinery out. The attorney for the estate said we could wait to remove the machinery until they cleaned out the building. Now they're selling the property, without removing the junk. Do we have any rights once the property is sold?

Thank you in advance.

Apparently you have the right to the machinery you purchased.

 

[zddoodah]

I bought a piece of machinery at an estate auction. It's in a building on the property.

I assume "the property" refers to real property owned by the estate. Correct? I further assume that you've already paid for the machinery. Also correct? How much did you pay, how long ago was the transaction completed, and what sort of machinery is it?

Do we have any rights once the property is sold?

Of course you do.

When you learned about the property being sold, you contacted the executor/administrator of the estate (and/or his/her attorney), right? If not, why not? If so, please tell us about your discussion.

 

[quincy]

What is the name of your state? New York
… The attorney for the estate said we could wait to remove the machinery until they cleaned out the building. Now they're selling the property, without removing the junk. …

You might want to check the property listing to see what’s included in the sale.

 

[adjusterjack]

What is the name of your state? New York

I bought a piece of machinery at an estate auction. It's in a building on the property. There was a lot of junk in the building, making it impossible for us to get the machinery out.

What kind of machinery?
How much did you pay for it?
What kind of junk?
Why is it impossible to move the junk out of the way and remove the machinery?

 

[christian_342]

In NY, once the property is sold, the new owner may have control over the building and its contents.
You may want to seek legal advice from an attorney specializing in property or estate law in New York to understand your rights and options moving forward.

 

[quincy]

In NY, once the property is sold, the new owner may have control over the building and its contents.
You may want to seek legal advice from an attorney specializing in property or estate law in New York to understand your rights and options moving forward.

While seeking advice from another lawyer is certainly an option, I think just speaking to the attorney who handled the estate sale should get draco the answers he seeks and would save draco attorney costs.

Typical auction sales will “sticker” sold items. If the machine draco purchased is large and unwieldy (like a commercial lathe), and the auction was conducted by a professional estate auctioneer, the machine will be labeled sold. If draco has the sales receipt, he shouldn’t have difficulty retrieving the item once the building is empty of obstacles.

 

[draco]

The machinery was only a few hundred dollars. We got quotes to remove the junk. There's no place to move the junk aside, there's that much. The removal would cost us low 5 figures. We bought it via an online auction from a professional auction site. There was no mention of all the junk.

The estate attorney said it's not his responsibility. He agreed to pass my information on to the new owners, once the sale is completed. That's all.

I'm hoping the new owners will be happy to not have to pay to junk the machinery. But I'm fairly certain we just can't go on their property and remove it, without their permission?

Thought I'd post here for advice, before contacting another attorney.

 

[LdiJ]

The machinery was only a few hundred dollars. We got quotes to remove the junk. There's no place to move the junk aside, there's that much. The removal would cost us low 5 figures. We bought it via an online auction from a professional auction site. There was no mention of all the junk.

The estate attorney said it's not his responsibility. He agreed to pass my information on to the new owners, once the sale is completed. That's all.

I'm hoping the new owners will be happy to not have to pay to junk the machinery. But I'm fairly certain we just can't go on their property and remove it, without their permission?

Thought I'd post here for advice, before contacting another attorney.

You could inform the new owners of the situation and ask to be present when they have someone clear the place out, so that you can retrieve your property. However, the fact that the attorney for the estate refuses to deal with the issue is a bit problematic. If the new owner is factoring in the scrap value of the overall contents in their bid, then they won't like finding out after the fact that part of the "junk" is yours. The attorney should be informing them prior to the sale being complete.

 

[quincy]

The machinery was only a few hundred dollars. We got quotes to remove the junk. There's no place to move the junk aside, there's that much. The removal would cost us low 5 figures. We bought it via an online auction from a professional auction site. There was no mention of all the junk.

The estate attorney said it's not his responsibility. He agreed to pass my information on to the new owners, once the sale is completed. That's all.

I'm hoping the new owners will be happy to not have to pay to junk the machinery. But I'm fairly certain we just can't go on their property and remove it, without their permission?

Thought I'd post here for advice, before contacting another attorney.

The professional auction company that arranged the auction needs to make what they sell available to the purchaser. Contact them. And, if necessary, have the property owner with you when you remove the machine.

 

[zddoodah]

The machinery was only a few hundred dollars. We got quotes to remove the junk. There's no place to move the junk aside, there's that much. The removal would cost us low 5 figures. We bought it via an online auction from a professional auction site.

Tens of thousands of dollars for junk removal? I'm skeptical, but whatever. For a few hundred bucks, this isn't really worth much time or effort (and it certainly isn't worth hiring an attorney). If you bought it online, I assume you used a credit card. If so, dispute the charge with your card issuer. If that doesn't work, chalk it up as a lesson learned.

The estate attorney said it's not his responsibility.

He's right, but it might be his client's (i.e., the executor/administrator of the estate) responsibility.

I'm hoping the new owners will be happy to not have to pay to junk the machinery. But I'm fairly certain we just can't go on their property and remove it, without their permission?

You are correct.