I just purchased a forclosure. the owners cut down all of the trees when they left. What can I do legally?

Answer 1

Did they cut them down before or after you purchased the home?

If they did it before you purchased it, you are out of luck.

If they did it after, that is actually criminal and destruction of private property and you need to call the police, file a police report, and get a landscape company to write you an estimate on what it would cost to replace the trees (with the SAME size trees), and sue them.

Landcaping and trees add significant value to your property. This is a much bigger deal than you think.

PS: The city destroyed an extremely large Japanese Maple in the front lawn of my home when they were installing new water lines. I got a check for $5,000...b/c that is what it cost to replace it. Large trees are VERY expensive.

Answer 2

This happens all the time when I worked for the bank. Trust me I dont think you can do anything. Its their property until they are evicted.

The bank I worked for we would call them and say we will give you 5000 dollars and pay your moving cost if you dont destory the house. It happens all the time.

Peole are pissed and they will do 20-50K in a damage on their way out. I dont see how you have any legal basis if it was still their house at the time. *im not an attorney*

Thats a risk of buying foreclousures. And even if you did have a legal right, they just foreclosed, you wont get anything out of them. Sorry it happend, but when I buy a foreclosure at sale im giving them all kinds of money not to destory it. Because more often then not, they will.

Im sorry.

*Ace what are you talking about? Its a foreclousure, there was no initial walk through. You dont get to go to a home that is being foreclosed on and tell the people living there "sorry you lost your house we are buying it tomorrow, mind if we come in and walk around?" Ace that made absoultely no sense.

Answer 3

Nothing.

There have been foreclosures with the plumbing ripped out, electrical systems destroyed, big holes in walls, all some sort of revenge against the bank for the buyers bad financial decisions.

Banks require a form that you bought the property as is, and that is one problem with foreclosures. There is no final walk through, no recourse about the condition of the house.

Answer 4

I would think that the missing trees would have been obvious during your final inspection of the property, if you did one.

Now that you have closed, there is nothing for you to do. When you closed, you accepted the property in the condition it was in at closing.

I trust that NOW you understand the value of a final 'walk through' ?

Note to financing_loans: If the property was purchased at the foreclosure sale, you are correct. Then this is the chance one takes purchasing in that fashion. If this was a foreclosure purchased through real estate brokerage, of course there is a final walk-through. The questioner did not state by which means the purchase was contracted.

Answer 5

In a foreclosure, the people that had the house before you relinquished ownership to the bank that held the loan. The bank then sold the property to you. Unless they cut down the trees after you purchased the property there is no recourse. If they cut down the trees after they foreclosed and before the bank sold it to you, then the bank may have recourse, but that doesn't really affect you.

Answer 6

You don't have much recourse, this is a foreclosure and the house comes as-is. In a regular purchase you would have options under certain circumstances for a claim, but not since you bought foreclosed property.

Answer 7

If they owned the property at the time they cut the trees, nothing. Are we talking big trees or just average size trees.

Answer 8

I'd doubt there's a specific law that says you can't cut down a tree on land you owned and stopped owning, I'd replant them if you -really- want trees.

Answer 9

if the house was a foreclosure then the bank owned the house,
plant more trees

Answer 10

let them grow back...it's not worth it.

good luck :)