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What would you do?

3,653 Views | 30 Replies | Last: 3 yr ago by Old Tom Morris
alabamaaggie12
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AG
If you bought a house and later found a large quantity of valuable items within the confines of it, would you contact the entity you bought it from and let them know? This didn't happen to me, but to someone I know (I'll call him Fred for clarity's sake) "Fred" is a single dad and absolutely needs the money. He bought the house a few months ago and in tracking down a plumbing problem found very valuable items inside the walls. Anecdotally, he has been told by neighbors just in casual conversation that he ought to get a metal detector and search the yard, because according to them, "there's no telling what the previous owner (now deceased) may have buried out there." I don't know if the previous owner has any family or who the house was actually purchased from. I was talking with a close friend who knows Fred and his situation, and this friend said they would absolutely contact the previous owners' estate strictly from a moral duty to do so. I understand that mindset, but I also would think that Fred bought the house and therefore owns everything associated with the property, right? I am interested to see what this board has to say on this subject, and if it has any bearing legality-wise, the property is in Alabama. Thanks!
Zombie
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I think its the sentimental value I would be more concerned with and how I would feel if someone contacted me. No matter how bad he needs the money, the karma just isnt worth it to me. Do the right thing and the universe/God will reward you.
aggiepaintrain
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AG
I do whatever is best for MY family, PERIOD.
If I'm broke, I'm getting unbroke.

fka ftc
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We need more investigation here. Right thing to do with no other info would be to contact previous owner and offer to return property. But previous owner is dead, so that adds in a layer.

Did the previous owner hide / bury because he didnt trust people, family, potential heirs? If so, then just handing it over would seem to violate his wishes.

Others may chime in, but by letter of law I believe it would finders / keepers here. Hence this is purely a morale dilemma. I would see if friend could learn of the situation that lead to the person hiding valuables in theirs walls.
cjo03
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AG
in.

Keep us posted on the outcome.. I'm a sucker for these stories.

Another consideration that comes to mind is how many previous owners there were? If many previous home owners and no identifying attributes on the 'loot' it could get complicated..
aggie appraiser
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Would the heirs put in a new plumbing system (after the purchase) if the buyer found out later that it was not operational?

I'm not sure the "moral" thing is to return anything to a relative of the prior owner.

Depending on the age of the item and the length of the prior ownership, the item could have been left prior to them possessing the home.
expresswrittenconsent
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What kind of stuff?!?!?!?!?!?!?
Also, when do you, err, Fred plan to start with the metal detector?
Rustys-Beef-o-Reeno
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AG
Is it cash? Jewlrey? Freaking Picasso in the attic?

Sazerac
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AG
In

With details given so far I'm not trying to track down dead guys relatives. And I'm getting the metal detector ASAP.
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jopatura
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AG
I believe there have been court cases that say it needs to be returned to the original owner.

Arizona says return: Grande v. Jennings

Oregon says keep: Sollars v. City of Milwaukie

Not sure it's been tested in Alabama.
Martin Q. Blank
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fka ftc said:

Did the previous owner hide / bury because he didnt trust people, family, potential heirs? If so, then just handing it over would seem to violate his wishes.
The will should be public. Maybe get a copy and see what was in it.
alabamaaggie12
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AG
I know my description was rather cryptic, but I know TexAgs, and I'm sure some of you real estate moguls are outdoor board regulars too...which makes me VERY nervous to say too much!

It really, truly is not my dilemma. It is the son of a friend of ours who is in his mid-30's and is finally starting to get his crap together. As I said, he's been single parenting after getting custody of a baby he didn't know he had until it was about 5 months old, and he has really been put through the wringer through that ordeal. Full disclosure, I don't know how valuable his current findings are, I only know they were valuable coins hidden in the wall and there were quite a lot of them.

It's my understanding the previous owner of the house had it built and lived there for years and years. I don't know if it was sold by a trust or his relatives, I have no details at all about that. I know he was very old upon his death, but not sure if he was still living in the house at the time of death or not.

So that's all the details I'm going to be able to give you, because that's truly all I know. I was curious about the legalities of the situation and thought I would see if anyone on this board had dealt with a similar situation. And of course I like to hear what others would do...and I honestly haven't even figured out where I stand on it.

Thanks for your responses, y'all never disappoint!

Signed,

NOT Fred (sadly)

alabamaaggie12
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AG
One other detail I forgot that pertains to your question: "Fred" told my husband that one day a guy knocked on the door of the house in question and asked for the previous owner. Fred told him that unfortunately the gentleman had passed, and in the course of their conversation the handyman said that he had often done work for the previous owner. He said that he came to get paid for a job one time and the old gentleman had him wait while he went back to his bedroom and got the $8000 in cash needed to pay for the job.

So yeah, given that fact and the accidental findings due to the plumbing leak, I'd be renting a metal detector post haste! Not to mention going full-on "fixer upper" and tearing out all the walls...
The Fife
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IMO the time for them to search the place has come and gone, your friend can do whatever he wants. Previous owners already had their bite of the apple.

edit: It's times like this that I'd love to try some of our NDI technology out. I've seen stuff that can detect lost tools, paper, even earplugs from scanning a fuel tank from outside the airplane. It all shows up plain as day on the picture.
schwack schwack
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AG
We found a box of coins squirreled away in a rent house we bought while doing some HVAC work. It had the name on it of a previous tenant (before we bought the house - never a tenant of ours) and we contacted them & gave it back. The box actually said "Brandon - DO NOT LOSE". Ha! They said they looked everywhere for it when they moved & even went back into the house when empty to continue their search. It was a great hiding spot - must have been high or something when they stashed the stuff there & forgot it.

It's what I'd want someone to do for me. He was so appreciative & bought us a nice bottle of bourbon + our karma is clear.

That said - your friend's situation is different. I'm not sure I'd go searching for relatives if none were involved in the sale.
NoahAg
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I'd try to contact the former owner's closest relatives. It's the right thing to do.

It would be tough though if we're talking old Honus Wagner, Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth cards.
Diggity
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AG
Reminds me of a house in Bellaire I sold to some clients.

The listing agent revealed to us at the second showing that famed "River Oaks Bookie" Robert Angleton had designed and built the house. It had a ton of dummy spaces built into walls and floors where you could hide your loot.

They were always hopeful that they would find a secret stash somewhere in that place but I'm sure the previous owners had combed the place thoroughly when remodelling.

https://www.texasmonthly.com/articles/the-bookmakers-wife/
MAS444
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AG
Man...great article. I remember all of that stuff and remember reading a lot about it in the actual physical newspaper. Lots of great throwback stuff in there.
agsalaska
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AG
I am trying to put myself in this guys shoes.

If I found a wallet with an ID in it I would give it back with everything in tact no matter how much money was in it. I found a set of keys this last weekend at a baseball tournament and didn't even want to turn them into the concession stand because I wanted to make sure the real owner got them.

But coins behind drywall or a buried treasure in a yard is a totally different ballgame. There is no telling who put them there, whether they were forgotten or left on purpose, why they were hidden, who they were hidden from, whether they were originally stolen, etc.

If I was digging in my yard and found a pocket full of Krugerrands I probably wouldn't tell anyone.
TheClaw07
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AG
For me it would depend on the history of the house. If the person who built it was the only owner I would contact relatives and let them know what I found. If it's been through multiple owners over the years I wouldn't feel guilty about keeping it since I couldn't know with certainty who they might belong to.
expresswrittenconsent
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Film this stuff where you find money in the walls and the backyard metal detecting. Put it on YouTube and you can make enough money to donate or give back the found coins.
CS78
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Found a baggy stashed in the master bathroom after moving in. Not knowing if the husband or wife might have been hiding it from the other, i did not say anything to either.
Premium
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AG
If you have to rip out walls to find it, I'd say they are paying your general contracting and remodeling fee.
dcAg
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Its Fred's.
Win At Life
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AG
I wouldn't return it outright without the previous own first being told to describe it.

You can't say "Hey, did the old guy leave gold coins in the house?"

"Why, yes. Yes, he did."
Win At Life
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AG
My own story:

I bought a house that was in foreclosure for about a year and owned by the bank. It was a weekend property, so I wasn't there much, but after owning it for about a year, I noticed a little leather bag up on the top shelf of the master closet that I never used. Turns out there was a little 25 caliber pistol in there. It's so freaking small, I can barely fire the thing.

But I certainly wasn't going to be walking into the bank holding a 25 caliber pistol to "return".
Rustys-Beef-o-Reeno
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AG
Buddy bought a house and lived in it for a decade or so, there was always an attic entrance in one of the second story bathrooms but he never really used it. Harvey hits and he floods so he's gutting the place, he finally ventures up there and finds, 90's porn tapes, empty crown bottles and 44 magnum revolver and leather holster.
Martin Cash
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AG
alabamaaggie12 said:

If you bought a house and later found a large quantity of valuable items within the confines of it, would you contact the entity you bought it from and let them know? This didn't happen to me, but to someone I know (I'll call him Fred for clarity's sake) "Fred" is a single dad and absolutely needs the money. He bought the house a few months ago and in tracking down a plumbing problem found very valuable items inside the walls. Anecdotally, he has been told by neighbors just in casual conversation that he ought to get a metal detector and search the yard, because according to them, "there's no telling what the previous owner (now deceased) may have buried out there." I don't know if the previous owner has any family or who the house was actually purchased from. I was talking with a close friend who knows Fred and his situation, and this friend said they would absolutely contact the previous owners' estate strictly from a moral duty to do so. I understand that mindset, but I also would think that Fred bought the house and therefore owns everything associated with the property, right? I am interested to see what this board has to say on this subject, and if it has any bearing legality-wise, the property is in Alabama. Thanks!
Where is this house, Fred?
Diggity
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AG
Early Man Cave
alabamaaggie12
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AG
Fred knows, but I don't. Since he is not in our social circle, I haven't even laid eyes on him in weeks. Promise!
Old Tom Morris
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Fred bought the property and now owns everything in it. And who knows how these items got there.
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