I hear it all the time. “Screw the banks Moe. They took everything from me and my family. They get bailed out with billions of dollars and my family gets nothing. I have been trying to work with these idiots for 8 months and now I am losing my home of 8 years.
I’ve had it!” they yell in justified frustration.
They go on to tell me, “I’m moving and I’m taking all my $h*t! My AC I installed last summer with my own cash, that built in barbeque I BUILT with my bare hands, the brick oven given to me by my mother, the slate walkway that my brother installed two years ago and now he’s passed away. It’s all coming with me they exclaim!”
How can someone argue with that? Well, maybe your lender?
The facts are that there are laws that govern mortgages, real estate and who
“legally” owns what when the home is sold or foreclosed on. When you have a mortgage, you technically are not the actual owner per say, but someone who is on title and paying the actual owner (your lender) till you pay them in full. They’re what you call a secured creditor.
I know you’re called a homeowner, but think about it? If you truly owned the home, would someone be taking it from you? Hell no! You’re an owner yes, but the bank is the king owner who calls the shots until you pay them off.
Just like a car and car loan. If you fail to pay on your vehicle, they send their goons to come repossess their car. You can’t strip the car down to the frame and tires because they are taking the car back.
A home with a mortgage works in the same way. There is just a lot more emotion involved and there is a lot more at stake.
Bottom line, if you default on your mortgage, the bank gets the home and everything that is attached to it per your states laws. It sucks! But that is reality and if you take what is not legally yours, you could find yourself getting arrested over a Microwave or oven. Is it worth it?
The key here is attached.
If it is bolted or permanently affixed to your home, then most likey it is what is called a fixture. Whoever owns the title to the property, owns those fixtures. Things like lights, fans, ac units, some ovens, some microwaves, counter tops, built in barbeques and stuff like that would fall into this category.
If what you’re taking is questionable, then maybe it really isn’t yours after all. Plus you might be placing yourself at risk to legal problems down the road if you take these fixtures. If you have to do it because of sentalmental reasons or you feel these items are rightfully you property, then maybe you can replace the old units or whatever you’re taking with something comparable?
Foreclosure sucks. Being broke sucks. Getting arrested over a kitchen sink sucks MUCH worse!
