Condition of House at Foreclosure

[JPOP1]

I have filed Ch7 BK and will be letting my home go back in the BK. Currently I'm just waiting on the foreclosure process to take place so we can move on. My wife is wanting to keep a couple of the new light fixtures and a ceiling fan that we installed not to long ago, before we knew that we would let the house go with the BK. Will this be a problem for us if we take these items with out replacing them? Also the heating unit went bad not to long after filing and was going to cost around $800 to get repaired so needless to say its still broke. Thank god for the gas logs! Just curious about what things you can take and not take when you let your home go back. I also plan to take those gas logs.

JPOP1

(F/Y/I.. I Live in N.Carolina)

[BassBoy]

Common sense would tell you.......

....with the fixtures; I would say you can take pretty much anything, so long as you don't leave plumbing or electrical exposed. Meaning, if you take a bath fixture or light fixture, you should put something in it's place. Basically, if it was mounted to a wall or ceiling, then there should be something there when you leave. And yes, you can take EVERYTHING from the gas fireplace.

I wouldn't be concerned about the heating unit. As far as you know, it worked fine while you were there. Get my drift?

[SinkingFast]

The only reference I found while searching the Net for info had to do with "Built In's". If it's "Built In" you pretty much should leave it behind.

I think BassBoy is pretty much right. Common sense would kinda dictate, if it's attached, you should leave it. Unless you plan to replace it with something else.

If you saved back the old fixtures when you installed the new ones, I see no harm, what so ever, in pulling out the new fixtures and replacing the old ones. If you're gonna leave behind bare wires and exposed plumbing, that's a whole different story.

I agree about the furnace. Anything can happen when a house sits empty for a while. We had a toilet start leaking after our house sat empty for 5 months. Not running water. Just the outflow line below the toilet worked loose. A few drips in the basement with every flush.

The furnace well could have been working when you left the home and just not functional when the mortgage company checks after they take over the property.

[poorme]

I'll dispute the furnace stuff - SO WHAT if it quit working while you were living there? It's your choice to NOT fix the furnace at all and heat by other means even while you were paying the mortgage right, - so I wouldn't worry about telling the story "was working fine last I knew..." - there's no need for that.

Now, if you removed the furnace and didn't replace it - that's another matter.

Some stuff that was removed from my house was apparently attributed to 'vandals' who entered after I left. Too bad!

[SamanthaJones]

Well, it comes down to a moral issue:

Do you feel badly taking certain fixtures that you installed? If not, it's not a moral dilemna. Will the mortgage company come after you if there are no faucets, or bare wires hanging from the ceiling? I don't think so. in fact, I think they expect it- therefore are not in a big hurry to evict in a foreclosure since an occupied house is more apt to be taken care of then a vacant one, so I have been told. Do most people raid their house right before they sell it? Evereyone I know does. If I install custom door hardware and light fixtures, and plant expensive specimen plants in my house and gardens, do I replace all that with Wal-Mart stuff before I move? You betcha!

[HHM]

Don't worry about the furnance, as for the rest of it, just put something in place of what you remove, even it what you place there is a simple cap.

[SinkingFast]

Do you feel badly taking certain fixtures that you installed? If not, it's not a moral dilemna. Will the mortgage company come after you if there are no faucets, or bare wires hanging from the ceiling? I don't think so. in fact, I think they expect it- therefore are not in a big hurry to evict in a foreclosure since an occupied house is more apt to be taken care of then a vacant one, so I have been told. Do most people raid their house right before they sell it? Evereyone I know does. If I install custom door hardware and light fixtures, and plant expensive specimen plants in my house and gardens, do I replace all that with Wal-Mart stuff before I move? You betcha!

Actually,.............. If someone saw your house with the expensive stuff, wound up buying the house, and that stuff was gone when they moved in,............ You might get sued if you did not specifically exclude those items in the Listing Agreement.

In many markets, unless the Seller specifically excludes items attached to the house or grounds, all items are included as part of the house. Light fixtures, faucets, curtain rods, plants, etc.

If I looked at your house with expensive specimen plants and custom door hardware, and those items were part of my purchase decision,............ And you did not specifically state in the Listing Agreement that those items did not remain with the house,.......... I would have grounds to sue you to get the items back and/or obtain monetary damages to restore the house to its condition at the time of my purchase offer.

Generally speaking, if you want to take something with you, take it down or out or off the house before you list it for sale. The safest thing is for Buyers to not see whatever to begin with.

[SamanthaJones]

Yes, the good stuff would be gone before the listing started.

I know of several real estate transactions that ended badly over stuff that was present then was not at close of escrow. You can get lightfixtures at WalMart or Goodwill for a few bucks, faucets for ten if you want to take your memories with you~

[JPOP1]

Thanks for the advice everyone! We just received a letter from the Mortgage company that they will be starting the forclosure process,so we are still a good ways away from the sale of the house and all that stuff. So no one has seen the house at this point.

JPOP1

[CATCHMEIFYOUCAN]

Take what you can get

Thanks for the advice everyone! We just received a letter from the Mortgage company that they will be starting the forclosure process,so we are still a good ways away from the sale of the house and all that stuff. So no one has seen the house at this point.

I definitely would take what I could get BEFORE anyone notice it was ever there. And hide those wires and cover up them fixtures. If you actually bought the stuff its yours to begin with anyways !

When I got into a car wreck the estimator from the auto shop let me take my new stereo out and switch the new tires I had bought with some old tires I had just before the actual insurance adjuster came to take it! Being a "regular," I was lucky they let me do that.

Just my thoughts, BEST OF LUCK CMIYC

[BassBoy]

Do not leave empty spaces or cover them up

I definitely would take what I could get BEFORE anyone notice it was ever there. And hide those wires and cover up them fixtures. If you actually bought the stuff its yours to begin with anyways !

If you meant to take the fixtures and just cover the empty space, I wouldn't recommend doing that. If it was mounted to the wall, ceiling or sink, then there should be something there in it's place.

You can pick up inexpensive fixtures at Home Depot, Lowes or even Wal Mart. When we left our house, I pulled the Moen faucet from our bathroom sink and I put the cheapest faucet I could find in it's place. I think I spent like $15 for it.....a Price Pfister that was plastic with a painted chrome finish.