Money Moral Dilemma: Should we return valuables to their owner?

brewerdave

Dilemma? Hardly - if they were family heirlooms they would not be valuables.
If its, for example, a silver tea service then just flog it -as others have said, if it wasn't on the legal documents when the house was purchased as an item to be removed, then its yours -no theft involved.
When we moved in to one of our past houses, all we inherited was all the junk that the previous owners couldn't be bothered to clear out:mad:

pollypenny

REJP wrote: »

Well said. Stealing by finding. Why am I not surprised so many people think it alright to keep valuables found in lofts? Previous owners may be found by checking Council Tax records.
A matter of conscience isn't it, and probably a generational thing. Wonder how many people don't see it as stealing? May be long lost family heirlooms which are of great value to owners or perhaps children of previous owners who died.

Checking tax council tax records?

Which council? :cool:

NeilOHiggins

maisie_cat wrote: »

I would try to return it personally.
We found a christening certificate and some old photos in this house and took it around to the old owner. It took us 10 minutes to walk there and it is a nice feeling doing the right thing, or at least attempting to.


Reminds of the time while replacing the floor in the loft I found the previous owners collection of lonely gentleman solo indulgence magazines that were dated from the late 70's. He was in his 70's himself when he moved around the corner.
It felt like it was the right thing to return the mags, he was over the moon! Memories, eh? :j:A

DigForVictory

It's a nicer dilemma than the shed is full of rubbish assorted previous owners have been too elderly &/or cba to shift.

Rather depends on the bulk & inconvenience of keeping let alone the value too. A hefty great lump of furniture that is preventing you flooring the roof void & using it as a studio/office/bedroom is one thing.

A small box of white gold set sapphires very like the ones you saw on Antiques Roadshow last month is another. That sort of seriously historic piece has a trail & is both worth less without it & the 'did ought to restore it to proper owner' is stronger - not least as the odds of some kind of reward exists, even if from the insurance company who paid out on its original loss.

crmism

Generally speaking, what a vendor chooses to leave behind rather than remove becomes your property by rights even though it might not be referred to specifically in the terms of the sale contract. I rate this as a clear case of Finders Keepers, as mere possession by a previous owner doesn't necessarily imply that he or she owned what you found, and they can't prove they're not yours, either.

Besides, no homeowner is likely to forget that they have something valuable tucked away in their attic, are they? It's quite possible, of course, that the original owner is untraceable anyway, so I wouldn't have sleepless nights over it.

lincroft1710

crmism wrote: »

Besides, no homeowner is likely to forget that they have something valuable tucked away in their attic, are they? It's quite possible, of course, that the original owner is untraceable anyway, so I wouldn't have sleepless nights over it.

The owner may have had dementia and thus being moved to a care home or may even have died. Also some relatives don't realise the value or significance of items they find in the loft and just leave them there.

I'm not even sure what's in our loft, haven't been up there for over a year, but pretty certain there's nothing of monetary or sentimental value.

pickledonionspaceraider

It is strange, if you used threads like this one - it would lead you to believe that most people are honest and would go out of their way to help other folk

That's the internet way.

The 'real' world is not like that. I wish it was sometimes.

maureen17

...treat others as you would like to be treated.

Tallcolin

It’s legally yours, the question is how much effort do you want to go to, to return it? Would you do the same if it was a bag of rubbish, and who defines what “rubbish” is?

wondermouse

"Why am I not surprised so many people think it alright to keep valuables found in lofts?"

Because you bought the house, including the loft and its contents.

If it was something of sentimental value, or maybe a previous owner left their jewellery up there, your conscience might dictate tracking the previous owner down. It might be a nice thing to do.

But they are a previous owner. They may have owned whatever it was previously, but they don't own it any more, you do. It's your loft and you own whatever is in it, unless previously agreed.