Money found in the loft

bootman

On a recent homes under the hammer programme the chap bought a house with a safe in it. The presenter said anything left in the safe now would belong to the new owner.

Keep it and enjoy!

Don't worry about the bank, don't pay it in, just take maybe a couple of hundred at a time to different branches and ask them to exchange for new notes. No need to pay it in at all, so it will never show on your account.

vet8

When we bought our current house there was loads of stuff left in it and the garden, sheds, stables etc. The previous owners made no attempt to claim this stuff. Most was junk we had to chuck out, but there were good things there which we used, tools, old furniture etc. If any of these had been very valuable I would still have claimed them as mine. He sold the house knowing that stuff was still there, he just could not be bothered to clear it out.

In the OP's case if the previous owner is dead there is no way on earth of proving if it was her money or not or of proving who it now belongs to.

Keep it.

kunekune

For the purposes of theft, it doesn't matter who the money actually belongs to. The point is that it doesn't belong to the person who bought the house.

mrstilton

I think this thread should be closed now. It's boring. And it's probably a wind up.

vet8

kunekune wrote: »

For the purposes of theft, it doesn't matter who the money actually belongs to. The point is that it doesn't belong to the person who bought the house.

That is possibly true, although I would be inclined to think that you buy the house and all the contents left in it at the time, but the remark is no help here. What do you suggest he does with the money, giving that it is impossible to prove definitely who owns it? Who should it go to, not the treasury surely as they steal all our money anyway.

Mrstilton, sorry if you find this thread boring. If so, just stop reading it, personally I find it fascinating.

Errata

Is it the principle or the amount that causes difficulty over ownership ? If a million quid in gold bars had been found in the loft would the new property owner's feelings of ownership of contents be somewhat different ? I suspect it would.

amcluesent

Looked at realistically, the greedy solicitors will take a hefty chunk in 'fees' to re-open probate, contact relatives etc. That's assuming that the seller left a will, if not costs will be up again. For all you know, she could have left any 'residual' to the local cattery.

I'd give a few £ thousand to charity and then spend the rest.

mrsspence

I have too much of a conscience clearly!
I'd find out who lived there previously (I know they're deceased!)
But ask neighbours about the persons family, if they know any of them (Neighbour may have a contact number for family member if the old lady was ill???)
And call them if possible.
I couldn't keep that kind of money £100 yes. £500 maybe.
£8000!!! No way! That's a new car to someone!

kunekune

vet8: That is possibly true, although I would be inclined to think that you buy the house and all the contents left in it at the time, but the remark is no help here. What do you suggest he does with the money, giving that it is impossible to prove definitely who owns it? Who should it go to, not the treasury surely as they steal all our money anyway.

Er, it's quite a bit of help if you're the OP and you're wanting to know whether you'd be committing a criminal offence by paying the money into the bank. Other than fixtures, the only property that goes with the house is what has either been deliberately included in the sale. If you find abandoned goods, then you can't steal them because they don't have an owner. But the legal definition of abandoned is pretty tight, and it quite likely isn't satisfied here. I don't care what he does with the money, my point is that it isn't his. I suggest he contacts the executors of the estate, and lets them deal with the problem. It isn't his problem.

honeyD

So its all fine and dandy to keep a few tables/chairs/other misc items left behind as they are seen as "yours", yet because this is money which is a bit different than just a chair, its automatically "no not yours you cant keep it"?
Id be inclined to keep it and donate some amount to charity, afterall you cant be sure whos it was in the first place. It might be from the previous previous owner for all you know!