Posted on 02/04/2009 8:50:28 AM PST by LibWhacker
As you said, it “can be.”
Still, unless your mortgage stipulates what you may do (eg, some have a clause about renovations exceeding a certail percentage of the property value), you own the stove and may do with it as you wish.
Hmmm... I seem to recall a clause in my mortgage contract which requires me to maintain the property in good, saleable condition. This, of course, is no more enforceable than the original obligation to make the payments, but a lender could theoretically sue a homeowner, prove that the homeowner allowed the damage, and take the homeowners car in settlement of damages awarded.
I think it used to be that real estate and car loans were "non-recourse", meaning that the lender could only take the asset which secured the loan. I'm not sure what the limitations are now.
Those of us who have behaved responsibly and who have assets are held to a different standard because we have something to lose.
These borrowers may be surprised in the future at just how unattractive lenders may find them. Accountability for bad behavior is sometimes very indirect, with the person not even recognizing that their life has been so negatively impacted due to the behavior.
Don’t they own most of the appliances they are “stealing?””
Maybe-—maybe NOT.
Most new homes are sold with some appliances already installed and included with the price of the home.
Big refrigerators- upscale types
Built in ovens and counter cooking surfaces.
Built in Microwaves.
Dishwashers.
New home owner might buy their own washer/dryer, but lots of new homes have a decent array of appliances.
I have posted here for months about the damage these “foreclosed owners” have been doing before they vacate their lost properties.
They lied to the banks and cannot pay the payments.
I am hoping that the banks do a number of lawsuits against these people. It is totally disgusting.
Obviously people that should never have been given a loan in the first plac.”
Lots of those “home owners” should not have been allowed to buy a T-shirt on payments.
They finally found a house, one that was owned by an Army officer who was leaving DC for another post. Our poor daughter was really discouraged when they were looking. She could not believe that people would behave like that and destroy a home as they had done. She said they looked beautiful form the outside but were trashed inside.
I know mold is expensive to treat, friends of ours paid over 40,000 to fix their home.
Many people don't realize that the difference between a "first mortgage" and a "second mortgage" is just which was contracted and/or recorded first.
I think your example of a home-improvement loan taking priority over a first mortgage would be extremely rare and would require the permission of the first mortgage holder, evidenced by signing an agreement to subordinate their loan to the new loan.
Does the mortgage company own my stove??”
In the case you describe, I would say no.
I bought a house in 1988, that had had renters in it, but it was vacant when I looked at it. Bought it in foreclosure. Have photos of what was there when I made the offer.
When I got possession: The wood stove that heated the whole house was gone, along with the pipe/stack.
The kitchen stove was gone.
The living room light/fan was gone.
Cost me about $1700 to replace items, and that was a $65 used stove we found.
I was pissed, but because it was a foreclosure, the bank would not stand by me.
I don’t think that is so easy a statement to make.
What you are thinking about is that if you sell a house, the built-in appliances are ASSUMED to transfer with the house, while non-built-in appliances are assumed to go with the owner.
But you can write a contract on a house that allows the previous owner to take built-in appliances.
The question is, when the bank holds a mortgage on a house, does the bank’s implied lien include a built-in appliance, or does a homeowner have a right to take built-in appliances out of the house.
Since my bank has never asked me to inform them when I remove or replace built-in appliances, I have to think the law does not give them that right, and that a homeowner, while it is bad form, would not be in violation of the law if they took appliances out of the house prior to being evicted.
Obviously once the bank takes formal ownership of the house, this would be stealing.
I do think my mortgage has a clause about livability, so purposely trashing the house so that it is unlivable might be a violation, but I don’t know if there would be a criminal violation associated with doing so.
BTW, what we found in our neighborhood is that some houses were bought by hispanic owners who then brought in renters, trashed the houses, and then when their teaser rate mortgages expired, moved out, leaving a mess.
If you were correct, it would mean that when I replaced my dishwasher, I should have sent the old one to the bank. They obviously don’t own my new dishwasher.
Your sister got a real look at the problems So Cal has been building for years.
I left there 16 years ago, and will never go back.
I’m surprised they weren’t yanking out the plumbing and wiring to sell the copper.”
That has also happened—even out here in rural N Nevada.
Those rules differ by state, you can’t generalize, but this has been going on forever.
I knew a woman who hired a team of recyclers, who came in and removed everything that they could possibly recycle, including the cabinet doors. They covered the windows with paper, while they were working inside, and locked the doors.
Before she let the house go into foreclosure, she took out a second mortgage and sequestered the money. I don’t know, but she may have bought a new house under her maiden name. The foreclosed house was under her name from her former marriage. She had expert advice, she was living with a man who was under house arrest, awaiting deportation for international fraud.
Why does a stove and dishwasher come with a home but not a refrigerator or washer/dryer? The fridge is heavy and hooked up to water lines, as is the washer. The dryer has a vent hook up. The electric stove just has one plug in.
They are typically considered "built in" or attached fixtures. I'm going by NJ real estate law; most residential sales contracts name attached fixtures as being included unless specifically excluded elsewhere in the contract.
The mortgage is based in part on the contract of sale. Your mileage may vary.
See #88. I think Charles said it correctly.
Last court case I remember (don’t ask, I forget the citation), anything screwd in is removable, and not part of the property. Anything nailed down or attached with adhesive conveys.
Of course, you can do just about anything, if you put it in the contract.
If your credit is going to be ruined anyway... why not be spiteful, mean and nasty? Lenders are now PAYING the owners thousands of dollars to leave the premises without trashing it.
See post 41.
Yes, some lenders are paying now.
However, when you choose to demolish something you don’t own, only having your credit hurt doesn’t seem enough.
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