Actually I bet collectively we all have crazy stories about property transfers where reality and expectations collided. I had a landlord that itemized the charge per light bulb if any were not present. Basically though that meant we moved in to a bunch of dead light bulbs, power was off so no way to tell, and I had to fight with my conscience as at the end of my tenancy the desire to remove and replace with dead bulbs myself was strong. Very strong.
8 Likes
Yes, the liability part of it is scary. These folks have a reputation in the community for having horses escape, and there is a busy road nearby. That was when the gates were still there! I found out about this via a video on Facebook of my horse and others running loose a couple months ago, but we already had a contract on the farm by then, so I didn’t move barns. I’m putting up a better barrier today, though the old rusty gate I’d propped in place is still there.
I’m also worried about some random person they hire off Facebook (instead of getting a moving company) getting hurt packing their stuff. I’m moving out to the little house today, so I can be present for more hours.
Both realtors have been contacted, and both agree that the gates would convey. The sellers agreed to put up replacement gates, but we will see what actually happens.
Their realtor has been helping them pack, and is in frequent contact with us. I think she is looking forward to this being over too.
2 Likes
Property transfer is definitely rich with wild stories, like this and the others in this thread. Wow! We were actually set to close on a different farm last year October 15. Then a cat 5 hurricane blew into town on October 10, and flattened it!
This is definitely not the first fun surprise with this particular sale either. On inspection their couple thousand dollars worth of damage turned into a full roof replacement, because they’d had shrink wrap (a tarp alternative) installed. Apparently the way to install shrink wrap is to put hundreds of nails through the roof. So the roof that had only had relatively minor damage before turned into a full roof replacement. Then they put in a claim with their insurance for a full roof replacement that was their own fault. Only one story, there have been quite a few. This has been a long process! Can’t wait for it to be over.
“…and the appurtenances thereof.”
Yep, I would supervise closely anyone coming onto the property, including the actual old owners. Stay in the big house with themm as they move things out, or at least set up a lawn chair in the front of the house and note what leaves that house. Make sure they don’t take the refrigerator, stove and dishwasher, or the water softener or heck, the furnace and copper pipes. Or the light fixtures. Or the marble fireplace mantle, or the interior doors. Or ceiling fans. Or the automatic waterers in the barn. Or the saddle racks.
And, to make sure nobody leaves the bathtub running as they walk out the door. I would turn the electricity, water and gas off in that house, frankly, now. And I too would set up a locked gate onto the property so that you have to let them in. And no, no adjunct people coming to move instead of them.
And the first thing I would do would be to change the locks on both houses now. You can open the big house up for them, when/if they come. Set up a junk dealer to come clean out the house on Saturday, so if they don’t come, you can get on with your life.
4 Likes
I would also present the sellers with a letter outlining what happens if they leave any property. And hand it to them in front of witnesses. Make sure their realtor tells them about the drop dead deadline on property removal too.
My wildest closing story is a friend’s purchase of a foreclosed property. Lovely house with a great pool and spa, hardwoods in the public rooms, and fortunately the utilities were turned off. When they moved in they found they had to run out for light bulbs. The sellers had divorced, and husband left town, and wife and new boyfriend were local. Apparently she wanted to furnish her new home, so every ceiling fan and a couple of chandeliers were gone, plus every firmly mounted light had no light bulbs. The carpet cleaned up nicely, after three or four rounds from the carpet cleaning company. When they turned on the spa, giant glops of dark slime came out of all of the pipes, and the automatic pool cleaner was gone. The pool company was able to fix everything, for a huge price. I guess the ex-wife had a pool too, or they sold the pool cleaning device. Fortunately, the water was turned off, because several faucets were turned on full blast, and the tub drain had stuff over it, so it would have flooded. The first thing my friends did is have the locks changed the second closing was over, and they checked and made sure all of the windows were firmly latched, they also locked the gate to the pool area, because neighbors said the previous owner’s kids were dropping by.
1 Like
Be sure and take a few minutes to start a paper trail. I would write a letter to your own realtor, cc the seller’s realtor and the sellers, and outline the situation. Also, be sure to list the conversations you had with those professionals, something like, “This letter is a follow-up of our phone conversations earlier in the week, on Friday June 24th and again on Saturday the 25th, regarding the sellers’ wrongful actions in taking appurtenances of the property we just purchased at 10 Oak Lane, including two pasture gates, when they left. We also discussed…” If you want to have your realtor or both realtors present on Friday or if you want them to come by and see the damage done in person, make that request in writing. Your own realtor will probably be very helpful but it’s important to make sure the others cannot claim to misunderstand the situation, and if there is any future problem with the sellers, you have a clear documented record of what happened.
This letter does not have to be long; just a few sentences or a list will state everything. But I would include a sentence to the effect that “The seller, Joe Smith, told me in a phone call on the 24th not not enter the premises until Friday when they will remove the rest of their personal property. Please contact them or have their agent inform them that since we closed on the 24th the property is ours now and they have no ownership rights to dictate our access or come and go as they please.”
This issue is probably too small to end up in court, but having things written down makes it easier for everyone, and seeing that you have your ducks in a row will also goad the sellers into doing what’s right, just for their own preservation. In the worst-case scenario (which I don’t anticipate: they come back and vandalize or steal, or turn into stalkers for example), you have a written record to support your claims.
One more thing: I’m unclear if they have already taken all the horses but if some remain, I strongly disagree with advice to hold their horses until the sellers return the gates. Get those horses out of there as soon as possible. You do not want to have the cost or responsibility of caring for them. Their care will quickly exceed the value of the gates which have been removed and they will continue to eat and try to injure themselves.
6 Likes
Shrink wrap? As in for palletizing boxes? And they claimed against the ins co. I really would not trust theses people.
2 Likes
this reminds me of that Richard Pryor movie called Moving. the seller’s took the stairs among other things with them. HAHAHA
4 Likes
I very much agree with the suggestion to document as you go. Timely notes, with dates and even times (things can change a lot in a few hours), are something you have only one chance to capture.
Same with photos and videos. Photo & video BEFORE they come and AFTER they leave. I don’t know why, but although photos can be just as complete and even a better view than a video, somehow video is more compelling to an observer as visual evidence.
Also if there are any difficulties getting it across to the former owners that they can’t keep returning to the property, sometimes the easiest fallback is “liability”. Framed in any way that is easiest to present to them. You can also claim you haven’t yet brought your large mean dogs, or whatever, as IMO you have no obligation to be truthful.
Realizing that you have a prior relationship with these former owners as you used to board there, I suggest not worrying about what they may feed into the local horse gossip mill. Just be sure and get your story out first. In this day & age there is no ‘ignoring it’, as fake news tends to have a life it never did before, in this age of electronics.
There is a classic COTH thread from a few years ago that is dozens of pages long (as I remember) with some of the funniest and most bizarre after-closing stories ever assembled. Wish I had time to search for it and find the link. I have a memory that was the capper, for me, the former owner who either left a note or phoned the new owners to ask them to wake up her adult son who lived in the basement in time for him to go to work. I don’t remember if they were supposed to give him breakfast, too. At least you only have a couple of horses still in residence … :lol::lol::lol:
1 Like
Same with photos and videos. Photo & video BEFORE they come and AFTER they leave. I don’t know why, but although photos can be just as complete and even a better view than a video, somehow video is more compelling to an observer as visual evidence.
be sure to have turn the time/date stamp setting on, it is not as good as a watermark for evidence but it does show when the photos were (supposedly) taken (watermarks are digital applied as the recording is taken, there is an uninterrupted stream from frame to frame to show that the image has not been altered )
I actually have no scary stories of selling/buying/renting property, so I read these with a mixture of horror and morbid curiosity :lol:
4 Likes
Given that it is now evening Friday, the designated final-final come-get-your-stuff-and-your-horses day, I’ve been thinking positive thoughts for the OP and waiting for a hoped-for update on how it went. But won’t be surprised if it takes a week or two to recover and give said update! :yes:
4 Likes
I have also been wondering how it went - or if the seller even showed up to get the horses.
I vote we start a pool. I’m going with broke down on the way there and never showed.
2 Likes
I’ll go with they got the horses, but had excuse(s) why they couldn’t take the rest of the stuff and they forgot to return the gates or get replacements (whatever was decided)!
I guess the horses were taken, the gates not installed, the stuff is still there and something else not thought of was taken.
I’m guessing they took everything BUT the horses. I’m thinking that if they really wanted the horses, the horses would have gone first, not last.
I cannot imagine moving my stuff but not my horse before a closing. To me this situation is sort of like leaving my kid with the babysitter “for a few hours” and the not showing up for a week. I wouldn’t leave even a tractor behind, much less my horse. Even if my new farm wasn’t completely horse ready … well, part of selling out and moving is making the new place horse-ready, or having another plan for the horse, by closing time.
I’ll go with that as my second guess. Said they “broke down”, that is. Will have endless excuses every week until Christmas (at least). Still not paying upkeep on the horses.
Oh and in both scenarios they did nothing about the gates but yammer about all the great and wonderful gates they would install for the OP sometime before the earth implodes into the sun.
(This is fun. For us. Good luck OP!) :winkgrin:
3 Likes
Curious how this tale ends… hoping well for the OP!
Like the mailbox…
1 Like
Hoping it all went well. Too bad seller is several states away, I’d load up the horses and deliver them free of charge, ready or not.
1 Like
