Who owns contents after sale.

[semocase]

I recently purchased a house that still had alot of items left in it. The previous owner believes the items are his. Also left outside was a junk truck and junk atv, he wants these also. There was no mention of any items in the contract. Who owns the items? Thanks, Brad

 

[mightymoose]

Without any mention of it in the contracts, you bought the house, not the property in it.
The previous owner could likely being a successful suit against you for these items or their value.

 

[Betty3]

You know they are not yours (you didn't bring them). I would let the previous owner have them.

 

[Michael Wechsler]

Without any mention of it in the contracts, you bought the house, not the property in it.
The previous owner could likely being a successful suit against you for these items or their value.

What's the law? First look at the contract of sale, which should govern. Every "standard" real estate contract of sale should have a clause that deals with the personal property that is found on and within the premises. Usually this is specified and it's dealt with at the time of closing. Right now we don't know what the period of time is between the closing and the claim that these personal items are being picked up by the owner. So there are a couple of issues to be concerned with:

(1) The terms in the contract;
(2) Whether these items were clearly abandoned.

If these items were left on your property you may also have a right to charge storage or other fees since the seller did not vacate the premises. It is most common that these issues are dealt within the contract of sale. I highly advise you to take a look at it again to see whether this situation might be covered somewhere. Some things are peculiar - a junk truck - the seller left a motor vehicle on the premises? This makes me question whether it's clear to you that the seller sold the property but didn't remove their personal property prior to closing. We'll need a few more facts to make the picture clearer but it seems as if the seller may have breached the contract of sale even though they may not have willingly transferred ownership rights to you of the personal property.

 

[mightymoose]

Sounds like a foreclosure sale to me. The bank sold the house before occupant cleared out.... just a hunch.