What Can a Borrower Remove From a Foreclosed Home?
If you are currently facing foreclosure, you may feel some confusion over what items you are and are not allowed to take from your home when you leave. You have an uncontested right to all of your personal property, but it is sometimes challenging to identify which items fall into this category. During the process of reclaiming items that belong to you, you must take care not to damage the home lest you face potential prosecution.
The Facts
Items within a home are either classified as "personal property" or "real property." Personal property applies to items you own that are separate from the house itself such as clothing, furniture, books and electronics. Real property refers to items such as appliances and fixtures that are attached to the house. A good indicator of whether an item is real or personal property is whether or not the item was present within the home when you first moved in.
Benefits
You are always allowed to take your personal property with you when your home is foreclosed. In most cases you are not allowed to remove real property from the home. If, however, you paid to have new appliances and fixtures installed, you may take those items with you when you move, provided that you replace them. Any replacements you make must be with suitable and functioning items. Thus, a broken dishwasher does not constitute a suitable and functioning replacement. You must take care not to damage the property while replacing items. You can be held liable for any damages.
Considerations
Unattached property applies to items not contained within the home. These items may fall into the category of real property or personal property. A storage shed constitutes unattached property, yet its removal does not have a negative effect on the property's value. A privacy fence, however, also constitutes unattached property. Its removal does affect the property's overall value. State laws vary on which unattached property items can and cannot be removed by the homeowner during foreclosure. Check with an attorney in your state before reclaiming unattached property.
Misconceptions
Whether or not you intend to take upgrades with you, you do not have the legal right to "undo" any upgrades you made to the home that increase its property value and cannot be reasonably replaced. For example, you may not pry away sections of a granite counter top you installed merely for the purpose of making the counter top unusable. You also are not allowed to remove any built-ins you had installed in the home. By doing so, you are damaging the home and its value---regardless of the fact that you are singularly responsible for that increase in value.
Warning
If you strip a home of real property or do any damage to your home prior to leaving, you can face prosecution. In June of 2009, Robert Garcia was prosecuted for removing all appliances, fixtures, and even the doors from his Surprise, Arizona home before losing it to foreclosure. He was charged with committing fraud and criminal damage. The charges are both felony counts and carry a prison term. He is not alone. More and more individuals are facing prosecution for damages done to their property prior to foreclosure. Take care to do no damage when removing items from a foreclosed home.
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