Moved into new house and loft is full

[Invisiblewoman1]

Can and should I do anything about this, completed 3 weeks ago and renovating. Just realised loft is rammed full of previous owners belongings.
Can I do anything?

Our loft was full of stuff. When we bought our house the loft ladder was broken and it took us ages to get a new one, so it seemed a bit late by then to get solicitors involved. The house had been rented out for the last few years so was unlikely to be the owner's stuff. We took it all to the dump.

Gosh, I’ve just realised I never thought a my dad’s loft when I cleared his house after he died. He’d only lived there a couple of years and had always been infirm so I’m hoping he never made it up to the loft!

Our house was left full of rubbish so my solicitor contacted the vendor who denied all knowledge of it and refused to pay. The only option then was small claims court. It took 3 skips to get rid of it.

A friend moved into a house and the garage was full. His solicitor told the vendor they had a week to get it cleared and they did.

I'd have a good look through before you ask for it to be cleared. There may be a bit of money to be made from the stuff.

OP
What about contacting seller directly? Wouldn't a friendly chat make things easier before involving solicitors?

@YumMuminda I don’t have any contact details for the beneficiary. We’ve never met or spoken directly so that would be impossible.

For those who know, what happens if the buyer just keeps stuff they find? Can a seller have recourse, and for how long?
Where I live the standard terms of sale deem chattels on the property abandoned and they become the property of the new owner.

For those who know, what happens if the buyer just keeps stuff they find? Can a seller have recourse, and for how long?

It belongs to the estate of the deceased in this case. However, if someone had made all reasonable efforts to contact the estate, including via their solicitor involved in the sale, then I suppose they could then start going through the stuff. You can be sure, though, that if an expensive item was discovered then someone would soon turn up claiming ownership.

I’d just dump the lot ( keep anything you want ) if anybody ever said anything just tell them it was empty when you moved in 👍

Shit, this maybe an oversight, I habe cleared out two probate properties , both emotionally very difficult, and I didn’t go in the loft, I didn’t even think about it, was getting the job done, so could have left stuff up there. 😱

@thriftyhen

I'd have a good look through before you ask for it to be cleared. There may be a bit of money to be made from the stuff.

What a horrible thing to even think. Benefiting from someone else's loss. I hope most people would be decent enough give the relatives a chance to retrieve it

When we completed on our place, it was full of furniture - we couldn't fit our furniture in.

Solicitor told us that we could remove and pursue the vendor for the costs incurred but realistically, who wants to go to court over £500? Fortunately, our vendor removed everything but I know that we would ultimately have paid to remove it if necessary. Our vendor was a dick.

I am currently in the process of putting late MIL'S house on the market. I did say to DH after reading this thread that we had to remember the loft. No idea if anything is up there, maybe just a Christmas tree (hopefully)