You Buy a House, Find $45K, What Do You Do?

[AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP]

therandomforest.com/man-finds-45000/

It had to be quite a surprise to stumble onto this sort of money. Most people would have seen it as a blessing and kept the cash. It sure would have been handy to have after spending a few hundred thousand dollars on the home in Utah, but this man did the unthinkable.

He decided to give the money back to the previous owners of the home. The man returns 45,000, previous son of the owners of the house is who he gave the money to.

The son was truly shocked the man had the integrity of a Saint to return that amount of money in a struggling economy to the person who obviously had forgotten it was there. This would have shocked me as well if I were put in this situation to be given a bundle of money we had been accumulating over a lifetimee.

My question is: How do you know it belongs to the previous owner of the house?

My answer is, I would follow the laws in my state so that there is a proper legal paper trail to follow. Let the police question the previous owner, see if he knows details like where it was located in the house, and how much was there?

[AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP]

I did my semi-bi-when-I-feel-like-it scrounge around for coins and money. I went through all my clothes, the cars, every drawer, jar, etc. This time around-- $32 bucks. I can't imagine getting up to $45K.

[8 Bit WWBG]

...:::"My answer is, I would follow the laws in my state so that there is a proper legal paper trail to follow. Let the police question the previous owner, see if he knows details like where it was located in the house, and how much was there?":::...

I remember from Business Law in college that this particular case -- finding money in a property you have purchased is considered a Treasure Trove, and "finders keepers, losers weepers" applies. The 20 year old me would have said "hell yeaaaaaaaah" seeing as that was more than my gross salary.

Not sure what I would do now. But if the law said it was mine, its mine.

[Gardening Grandma]

When we were preparing my late MIL's house for sale, we found about $2000 in cash. Stashed everywhere. Some under the carpet pieces on the basement stairs, some in used envelopes (nested)..... I still wonder how much we missed.

[DVM gone riding]

boy I would have a hard time giving the money to the heir. Now if I bought the house from a little old lady that was going senile I would like to think i would return the money, but to her son.... In most states all property not specifically addressed in the closing papers left in a residence after closing is then considered the property of the new owner.

[constanz22]

I read this article the other day, and was really hoping it said that they gave the "finder" a nice big chunk of it, like 10K. That would've made it a better story, IMO. I was pretty disappointed that they didn't...

[Deleted]

In most states all property not specifically addressed in the closing papers left in a residence after closing is then considered the property of the new owner.

This must vary by state. The previous owner left a piano (!) for me to deal with. I mentioned it in conversation, and my lawyer SIL told me that there are abandoned property laws. I couldn't simply give it away . . . and I imagine in the case of the money, I might not be able to simply keep it.

The realtor, who lives across the street from me, contacted the previous owner who gave her permission to give it to a mutual friend of theirs.

[haapai]

My question is: How do you know it belongs to the previous owner of the house?

Paper currency has dates on it. That usually allows you to rule out the penultimate owner or occupant of the house and it is rare for someone to stash money in someone else's home.

The law is definitely finders keepers and I've never heard of any duty to report, although a smart person probably would. It helps build credibility when you deposit the money. A chunk of cash like that will raise questions when it is deposited.

Given the pace at which large denominations notes are changing, not depositing the money and slowly spending it on untraceable expenditures isn't such a great idea.

[Deleted]

I am in NY and it's finders keppers here I believe.
I bought the house, everything in it is legally mine... I would have kept it.

*Flame away*

[haapai]

You would not have kept it. Your wife would have spent it.

[Deleted]

May 21, 2011 20:10:19 GMT -5 haapai said:

You would not have kept it. Your wife would have spent it.

Oh shoot, totally forgot about my wife.
Her christian morals/values would have made us return the money
Unless I can hide it from her

[2kids10horses]

We bought a lot of older homes from elderly people early during our investing career. We bought several from estates. They were the type where one would expect to find TReasure Troves. Never found one, tho.

THere was one some guy found in Atlanta, with, I think even more money from a guy who used to push a grocery cart around and pick up cans and cash them in.

All we usually get are the Christmas ornaments. Seems like they almost always leave those behind. Tenants, too.

We bought one house from a girl who ran off from her husband, and ran off with a guy who used to be HIS best friend! She got divorced, we bought the house, and up in the attic, she/they left their wedding album. It was one of those $1000 expensive jobs. Sad, really. We kept it for years, thinking that SOMEONE would eventually want it. Finally threw it away.

[❤ mollymouser ❤]

We found a weird collection of rusty knives, axes and swords in the attic crawlspace when we bought this house. Creepy. We called them and they declined the chance to come get their ... weaponry.

[Sum Dum Gai]

I'd like to think I'd do the same thing I did when we found a Rolex at our house, which was turn it in. However, $45k in cash... I'd definitely fantasize about keeping it. Which reminds me, I should call and check on the Rolex, I think we get it back after a while if nobody claims it. Would make a cool anniversary present for the wife.

[zibazinski]

Not a prayer. You could spend 45k in cash over a period of time and nobody would be the wiser. No, you can't go out and buy a big ticket item but you can do a lot of other things.

[Deleted]

I'd consult a lawyer and if I found out it was legal to keep it, I would do so.

[Sum Dum Gai]

You guys do realize there's a difference between legal and ethical right? You're essentially saying that as long as you could technically get away with stealing you'd do so. How very Christian of you all. I'm sure it's not a reflection of the kind of society that leads to Bernie Madoff, Enron, etc. I mean, we all know it's different when it's an individual making the decision. Wall Street muckity mucks that screw people out of their life savings are scum, but when you do it it's totally different and it's technically legal so all good.

[debtheaven]

Dark, karma to you for that because I basically agree with you.

This said, I don't think it's all that obvious. It's easy enough to call the previous owner. You could say, I found something you might be interested in. And hope they remembered that they stashed 45K under the floorboards. Or remembered that their dying parent or grandparent had told them (or one of their siblings) on their deathbed that he or she had stashed 45K under the floorboards. Assuming, of course, that the house had been in their family for that long.

But what if the house hadn't been in any one family for a while? What if it had changed hands several or many times over a relatively short period of time?

I'm ALL about honesty too, but I think Tough makes a very good point. If you can trace the owner or probable owner, fine. For sure, you should try your darndest. But if you can't find them, and you now have to take an ad out in a local paper saying that you have found 45K and you want to return it to its rightful owner, you are inviting serious trouble.

Personally I'd try to do my best to contact the person who sold it to me (easy) and the person who sold it to them. And if it was recent enough, maybe even the person before that.

But at that point, if nobody had the right info, I'd probably give up, and keep that money, and donate some of it to charity.

I truly do see your point and on an ethical level I totally agree with you. But on a practical level, it is not that easy to try to get that money back to its rightful owner (who may well be dead for decades) and protect one's family.

[debtheaven]

I would assume it was criminal proceeds

I wouldn't. I'd assume it was an immigrant or somebody from the Great Depression. This said I don't remember how old the house in question is.

My late dad stashed some gold coins in his closet. Of course I only remembered that after my sister (his executrix) sold his apt. Maybe this is why I don't necessarily assume that everybody with a stash is a criminal.

[2kids10horses]

tough,

From my reading of the events, I think the new owner knew it was previously owned by an elderly person. Hoarding of cash by the elderly is actually not that uncommon.

I once bought a house from some people who were selling their parent's place. They knew their father hoarded stuff up in the attic. THey checked it VERY carefully before they sold it!

But you could tell he used to go up to the attic a lot. It was just a scuttle hole, 2 foot square, but there were dirty fingerprint marks all around it. A LOT of fingerprints. The people that sold us the house said that the father used to go up there daily to make sure the stash was still there.

[zibazinski]

I'm just a bad, immoral, unethical person. But I'm honest about it.

[AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP]

May 21, 2011 20:10:19 GMT -5 haapai said:

You would not have kept it. Your wife would have spent it.

[AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP]

May 22, 2011 16:20:48 GMT -5 Sum Dum Gai said:

You guys do realize there's a difference between legal and ethical right? You're essentially saying that as long as you could technically get away with stealing you'd do so. How very Christian of you all. I'm sure it's not a reflection of the kind of society that leads to Bernie Madoff, Enron, etc. I mean, we all know it's different when it's an individual making the decision. Wall Street muckity mucks that screw people out of their life savings are scum, but when you do it it's totally different and it's technically legal so all good.

I would return the money if I knew who it belonged to. I wouldn't automatically give it away to the most likely person it may have belonged to-- that's just stupid.

And while we're on the topic of stupid, how do you lose track of $45,000? Would YOU not know where your $45,000 was?

I don't think there is anything immoral, or unethical about keeping property transferred to you legally in a sale.

Someone too stupid to keep track of their $45,000 in cash is hardly automatically entitled to it, and if I found out the law in my state was that they legally conveyed the property- then I wouldn't hesitate to keep it.

I got to keep the termites I found in the wooden beam in a house I bought. Got to pay to extract it, and replace it with a metal I-beam and lost money on the deal.

[Deleted]

May 22, 2011 16:20:48 GMT -5 Sum Dum Gai said:

You guys do realize there's a difference between legal and ethical right? You're essentially saying that as long as you could technically get away with stealing you'd do so. How very Christian of you all. I'm sure it's not a reflection of the kind of society that leads to Bernie Madoff, Enron, etc. I mean, we all know it's different when it's an individual making the decision. Wall Street muckity mucks that screw people out of their life savings are scum, but when you do it it's totally different and it's technically legal so all good.

People need to learn that there is no relationship between being a Christian and living an ethical life or having morals. The two have nothing to do with each other.

Also, you are either breaking the law by keeping it or you aren't. There is no middle ground. If it is legal to keep it, then drawing a false correlation to Enron and other illegal activities is a nice try, but it doesn't hold water.

How would you feel if you bought this house as a foreclosure and the previous owner stripped the cabinets and wiring as they were leaving. Would you then go hunt them down and hand back the money?

[Sum Dum Gai]

People need to learn that there is no relationship between being a Christian and living an ethical life or having morals. The two have nothing to do with each other.

Trust me dude, I'm well aware. It's why there's no way in hell a priest is spending even a second alone with my daughters if I can help it.

Also, you are either breaking the law by keeping it or you aren't. There is no middle ground.

Legally, sure. Like I said though, there's a difference between legal and ethical. As far as I've seen we'd be far better off as a country with a few less people worried about following only the letter of the law and a lot more people worried about acting ethically.

[AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP]

Are we going to discuss the topic, or bash Christians?

[Deleted]

May 22, 2011 21:38:36 GMT -5 AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP said:

Are we going to discuss the topic, or bash Christians?

The topic has no where else to go, so I say lets go with the latter..

[philly1]

I would keep it. Wouldn't even lose a wink of sleep over it. Well maybe lose some sleep wondering how I was going to spend it. ;D

[AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP]

I am an investor, so I buy property all the time with the specific objective of buying it well below market price. Sometimes this is with a distressed seller's full knowledge, sometimes it is because I have spotted a market opportunity as a result of years of market research and the specialized market knowledge I have developed. Now, I say that to ask this: What's the difference if a seller that can't keep track of $45,000 in cash, and a seller that got in over their heads, or a seller that doesn't really know what their property is worth, or in one way or another does not possess the knowledge, skill, or financial ability to exploit the opportunity that the property represents to me? Theorhetically, if it's a good idea for me to buy, it's not such a good idea for them to sell. Either way, the seller is leaving me money.

[Firebird]

My question is: How do you know it belongs to the previous owner of the house?

My question is: How the hell do you forget that you had $45,000 in the floorboards?!

If you have enough that you could forget that kind of cash, you probably don't need it back. Not that the finder shouldn't return it, of course.

I'll be honest though, if it were a significantly lower amount (like $1k or less) I would have probably pocketed the money.