Discharged boat loan 2 yrs ago but our landlord will not tell us what he did with it

[sunkinsc]

We had a boat that we had to leave temporarily in another state at the house we rented while we moved back to our home state after I lost my job. I informed the landlord I would remove it once I could financially afford it. As time went on I was not able to land a job for over 3 months. During this time we had no choice but to file bankruptcy and the boat was part of that as well as the amount the landlord was charging us for breaking the lease, (which is suspect considering he was able to rent it out days after we left). The Chapter 7 BK went through and we were discharged. In the meantime this landlord did something with the boat and is unwilling to tell us. This happened almost 3 years ago. During this time we have had visits from repo guys looking for the boat and threatening calls from people calling themselves investigators. This would happen about every 6 months and once they were told the situation we would here nothing for months. Then a new "investigator" would pick up the case and call again. Today they called and are scaring the heck out my wife telling her she had until 8:00 PM to return the call or they would send a sheriff to our house. We have been nothing but cooperative all through this and provided all info we have on the landlord who has been extremely rude and uncooperative. The boat was left in Florida and when I finally had the ability to transport it back to SC it was gone. The landlord of the property never informed us he was moving it, selling it, or anything so here we sit with a discharged debt on a boat we no longer have possession of. Now we are scared my wife will get arrested even though we have been nothing but cooperative with the so called investigators who happen to be calling from Texas. What should we do, should we hire an attorney in our home state of SC or Florida and if so what kind of attorney should we hire? When we filed Bankruptcy we did not have a lawyer, we did it ourselves.

The landlord did not lose money on us breaking our lease, he actually made more than had we stayed there. He kept our last month rent and a deposit equal to a month's rent. He then rented the place out immediately after we vacated.

Life is good after bk 3 years later except this dang boat which I would personally drive to Texas if I could find it......

Please help

[catleg]

Pull your credit report, find out who owns the loan, and send them a nasty letter along with a copy of your discharge order.
Tell them that any further contact on this matter will result in attorney referral for violation of the bankruptcy discharge.

[sunkinsc]

Pull your credit report, find out who owns the loan, and send them a nasty letter along with a copy of your discharge order.
Tell them that any further contact on this matter will result in attorney referral for violation of the bankruptcy discharge.

I tried explaining that to them this afternoon but they told me I am still liable since the property was not returned.

[Bell30656]

They can tell you anything that they want to... Tell their lawyer to contact your lawyer. Tell them that all calls will be recorded for use in any future civil actions (whether you are recording or not). Check with your attorney to make sure that they cannot file criminal charges. That is why we use lawyers... They have all this knowledge. Okay, wait... Check with your lawyer's paralegal.

[DaisysMom]

Don't boats have to be registered? If they were investigating you would think that they would look up the registration and find out who has it. In Ohio you have to have plates for your boat before you can take it out on the water. Maybe you could find out something that way? Just my 2 cents.

DM

[AJA]

Why not just report it as stolen in Florida. Explain the circumstances but let the police find it.

[keepsmiling]

I would think this is secured property just like a car or house. And that you would need a police report to go any further with it. The landlord sounds like the thief to me. His nonsense needs addressing.

[NoMoreCards]

My thought is, the landlord does not sound like a thief as the property was abandoned. You can not just leave a item like this on someone's property indefinitely. And as the OP said, this was 3 years ago. If I were the landlord, I would have disposed of the property as well. It would not be realistic to expect the landlord to KNOW who the lein holder would be or to try to find out to contact them.

It will be interesting to know the laws and how they apply to abandoned property, which this clearly was IMHO.

[keepsmiling]

My thought is, the landlord does not sound like a thief as the property was abandoned. You can not just leave a item like this on someone's property indefinitely. And as the OP said, this was 3 years ago. If I were the landlord, I would have disposed of the property as well. It would not be realistic to expect the landlord to KNOW who the lein holder would be or to try to find out to contact them.

It will be interesting to know the laws and how they apply to abandoned property, which this clearly was IMHO.

You are right, I wasn't thinking about that part, but I'd think he could at least answer the question....
My main thought is about the being secured part and how that all plays out.

[LadyInTheRed]

I agree that the landlord was justified in getting rid of the boat. There may be state laws about procedures that would need to be followed. You may want to consult with a Florida Landlord/Tenant lawyer to see if there is anything you can do to force the landlord to tell you what he did with the boat. Perhaps a strongly worded letter from an attorney citing applicable law would do the trick. But, it probagbly isn't worth the cost unless you find out if you have liability to the lender for the loss of the boat.

I don't think it is a violation of the automatic stay for the lender to try to collect their property. But, that doesn't give them the right to harrass you. If I were you, and they threatened to send the sherrif to my house, I'd tell them to go ahead and do that, but to stop calling. I would then follow up with a letter telling them to cease contact by telephohne and telling them where I left the boat, that the prior landlord refuses to tell me where the boat is and giving them your prior landlord's contact information. I'd probably cc the landlord too. If they have actually gone through the proper procedures with the court to get a writ for the Sherrif to serve on you, you can show the sherrif that you don't have a boat on your property. I have no idea if you would have liability for not taking proper care of the boat. Because you live in South Carolina, to get help with the creditor you should consult an SC attorney who specializes in Debtor's rights. For information on how to get a referral to an attorney who will give a 30 minute consultation for no more than $50, go to http://www.scbar.org/PublicServices/FindaLawyer.aspx

[tobee43]

if one listed the boat and it's lender on the bk and it was discharged, you are DONE with it. period. i would call the police on anyone that showed up ...provided you listed the boat and the lender on the petition and it was discharged. if that is the case, they are in violation of the discharge and close orders issued in florida. actually, if you still have a copy of those orders it will make it clear to you what or what you may not owe. but, for certain, if the boat and it's loan was listed and discharged, they need to leave you alone. although, i understand their position, they want their property. but if you don't have it, well, maybe they should have looked before now.

just because "they" failed to locate the property, this should not be your problem, for all you know it was stolen, i would just give them the name and address of where the boat was/is and the landlords name, address and phone number explaining they were the last people with the boat in their possession.

[catleg]

I mean, if it was a house, they can take any action they want against the property, post discharge, but if you are not living there they have no reason to be in contact with you. I would expect it's the same thing with a car or boat. If they can't locate it, it's not your problem. The landlord might have disposed of it, but not through a legal process, so unless someone has it registered it is just missing and the bank is out of luck.

IMHO, of course. For entertainment purposes only. I am not an attorney.

[Bell30656]

The landlord may have contacted a towing company and just had it hauled off. Where it would be auctioned and sold to the highest bidder. Repo people and collection people say a lot of things when talking to you over the phone. Usually none of it is correct.

[GoingDown]

I would then follow up with a letter telling them to cease contact by telephohne and telling them where I left the boat, that the prior landlord refuses to tell me where the boat is and giving them your prior landlord's contact information. I'd probably cc the landlord too.

That's what I would do, too.

[GoingDown]

. Repo people and collection people say a lot of things when talking to you over the phone. Usually none of it is correct.

To update a quote from Mark Twain: "there are lies, damned lies, and then there are" words that come out of the mouths of debt collectors.

They lie almost all the time.

Stop listening to them.

Send them a cease and desist communications letter, and stop talking to them on the phone.