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I am in the process of selling my house to an investor. He asked me for a key so he could have a contractor take some measurements. It didn't seem like a big deal at the time.
I am staying with my parents but still had most of my stuff in the house. Last week I went to the house to finish packing up my stuff and everything was gone.
I got in touch with my buyer and after a few days of run around I found out that they have someone who is buying it from them after it closes with me. That person asked if they could go in and do work and my buyer gave them the key and they cleared out all of my stuff. They got rid of all my stuff and painted and tiled the house. I never gave permission for any of this.
We were supposed to close tomorrow, but I'm not satisfied with what the buyer has offered to compensate me for the loss of personal property.
So, do I dig in and refuse to close or go ahead and close and deal with the property loss through the court system?
Personally I would at least bluff that you aren't going to close without fair compensation. Keep in mind they may very well be on the hook if it doesn't close for the expenses the third party put in to the house.
How far apart are you on compensation and what exactly got tossed out?
So you are OK with some slimy flipper admitting that they already have a buyer lined up that will be paying FAR more than the flipper will be paying you, that threw out your belongings...
Yes, I did. I do tend to be very trusting. I just never would have expected anything like this to happen. I certainly didn't expect my buyer to give someone else permission to make changes to my house.
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So you are OK with some slimy flipper admitting that they already have a buyer lined up that will be paying FAR more than the flipper will be paying you, that threw out your belongings...
Wow.
Am I okay with it? No. But we do have a contract and I didn't have the money to invest into the house myself to fix it up. It wasn't in any condition to take to market.
eta.
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How far apart are you on compensation and what exactly got tossed out?
Not too far, about $1500. I assume that going to court over it is not something my buyer would want. For one thing, I think a judge would award me more than I have asked for. The buyer is trying to compensate me for just the things I have receipts for.
Not too far, about $1500. I assume that going to court over it is not something my buyer would want. For one thing, I think a judge would award me more than I have asked for. The buyer is trying to compensate me for just the things I have receipts for.
Hopefully you actually have something in writing from them admitting what happened. I would absolutely tell them you are not closing until you are fairly compensated. They would probably have to pay the third party that much to compensate them for the work they did anyway.
I would also highly consider getting an attorney as someone else mentioned.
I can't imagine a situation where someone would feel they had the right to clean out a house. Slimey is right. Taking electronics and tech stuff is genuine crook stuff...but ... what... sofa, kitchen stuff. Stealing that is indeed slimey. I can't imagine a disconnect where anyone would feel they should take every bit of the stuff honestly. So they sold some, kept some.
So your prospective buyer was the one in the house, the one with the key...so he is the thief. I'd call law enforcement and file charges against him. He can do whatever he wants about his own purchaser if such a character exists but he's the one on the hook to you.
This would make an interesting news story too. Common heartbreaking stuff these days. Someone treading water, needs to sell, can't fix up the home (not uncommon at all), along comes an investor and poof....your furniture is gone. Everything. I bet even a favorite chair and your coffee maker. All the little touches.
Do spread the word about this slimey set up they have going on.
PS Yes, do get at least your settlement attorney involved because there are restrictions on those same days flippers and in some areas it's impossible for them to get a loan like they used to. (Meaning there could be surprises even at settlement.) There are workarounds, selling the contract, etc but you need legal help even regarding the settlement.
I have a bunch of emails from them admitting what has happened and asking what kind of compensation I was looking for. They said the amount they offered me was all their buyer was willing to pay. As far as I'm concerned, my compensation from them has nothing to do with their buyer. They were the ones who let a stranger go into my house without my permission. They are responsible for what happened to my stuff. They should be paying me themselves and then they can deal with their buyer themselves.
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This would make an interesting news story too. Common heartbreaking stuff these days. Someone treading water, needs to sell, can't fix up the home (not uncommon at all), along comes an investor and poof....your furniture is gone. Everything. I bet even a favorite chair and your coffee maker. All the little touches.
Fortunately, most of my appliances and furniture was out. But they got everything in my kitchen, including hand-me-down cast iron skillets and vintage cookware. They also got a filing cabinet with bank statements and tax documents.
The catch in all this is that I am only a week or so out from having my house auctioned off, so I don't have much time to mess around with it. That's one reason I thought maybe closing on the house and taking the rest to court might be the best option.
I have a bunch of emails from them admitting what has happened and asking what kind of compensation I was looking for. I said the amount they offered me was all their buyer was willing to pay. As far as I'm concerned, my compensation from them has nothing to do with their buyer. They were the ones who let a stranger go into my house without my permission. They are responsible for what happened to my stuff. They should be paying me themselves and then they can deal with their buyer themselves.
Exactly right. I would not have any contact at all with the third party. And I would tell them that is not your problem in the slightest.
I hope you have changed the locks at this point as well.
Exactly right. Put the third party in a different compartment in your mind. The buyer is just trying to distract you, muddle the issue and act like he's been had too so he's in your situation just like you so you're buddies. Let him know he has the right to do whatever he wants with this other person (who knows if this other person really was in there or if this guy does this to others, has sold your vintage cookware and stolen identity). He may do this intentionally at this time in a homeowner's life when the homeowner is most vulnerable.
Can you get a little free advice from your settlement attorney?
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Wow. I thought I have heard it all...
