Ex owner property left behind

On_the_move

Evening people, please can anyone offer advice on the following:

I have had a bid accepted on a property that was reposessed.
Inside the house there are a lot of items belonging to the ex owner.
What will / should happen to these items.

I would say there's a £1000 worth.

The house has been empty 5 months now so they've had plenty of chance to come back and empty out.

G_M

You'll be buying the property as seen.

When you move in, either hire a skip to dump it all or have a garage sale.

poppy10_2

Ideally you should have ensured the property was cleared before you exchanged contracts. Now unfortunately you are stuck with items that do not belong to you, and you cannot strictly speaking sell or dispose of them without the original owner's permission, although the chances of getting sued by them is low, even if they could prove that the items belonged to them.

More here:
http://www.fp-law.com/conveyancing/buying-repossessed-property.html

Things Left at The Property

It is very important for you to check the property before exchange of contracts to see that it is empty. Check the roof space, garage, and other storage areas as well as the living accommodation. This is important for two reasons You may be faced with having to dispose of rubbish at your own expense

You may be put in the difficult position of having to store items of value which do not belong to you and which you therefore cannot dispose of.

This is because the sellers have the right to sell the land and building to you but they don’t have any legal right to items that have been left behind by the previous owners. The contract for sale will specifically state that no such items (chattels) are included in the sale and that you will not acquire any legal right to them.

and here
http://www.gardner-leader.co.uk/orphan/news/Lumberedwithotherpeoplesproperty.html

So far as the fixtures are concerned e.g. kitchen units, built-in wardrobes etc., they form part of the mortgaged property and so the mortgagee [bank] can sell them with the property under the power of sale. In the absence of any contrary intention, all fixtures present on the property at the date of the mortgage (and those subsequently added) are automatically included in the mortgage and do not have to be listed.

Where other personal items are concerned, a mortgage normally gives the mortgagee an express power to dispose of items that are left in whatever manner he deems fit as agent for and at the expense of the previous owner. However, even if this clause is not in the mortgage, often the mortgagee will just dispose of the items because of their low value and minimal prospects of any adverse claims. If the mortgagee has not disposed of the items, you [the new owner] have a duty to look after them and must look after the goods as if they were your own.

karren

could you not find out who last owner was so they have chance to get thier property back as probably lost everything?

G_M

poppy10 wrote: »

Ideally you should have ensured the property was cleared before you exchanged contracts. Now unfortunately you are stuck with items that do not belong to you, and you cannot strictly speaking sell or dispose of them without the original owner's permission, although the chances of getting sued by them is low, even if they could prove that the items belonged to them.

OP does not seem to have Exhanged yet. But I still doubt if the bank will clear a repo.

lilac_rainbow

Ours was a repossesion and still partly furnished when we viewed but it was all cleared out before we bought it. Was a shame really as the guy ran up loads of debt but the stuff was his mothers - his brother only lives down the road and could have had it if he'd have let us know (included things like photographs)