I just finished reading an article in my local paper about a contractor in Cleveland who is taking a homeowner to court claiming that money he found in the wall during a remodel should be given to him or at least part of it.Seems the “bundle s of Depression-era U.S. currency totalling $182,000” face value could be worth upwards to $500,000 !I SAY WHAT RIGHT DOES HE HAVE TO ANY OF IT …….NO WONDER CONTRACTORS GET A BAD RAP! I couldn’t find a link to this article to post the entire story…..maybe some of you can.
Edited 12/12/2007 7:13 pm ET by JerryHill
Replies
The homeowner offered him a 10 %cut as a finders fee but he is demanding at least 40%. The article gives his name but I won't go there for now..........
"The article gives his name but I won't go there for now..........
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Who are you protecting? It's public knowledge isn't it? Bob's next test date: 12/10/07
Well it's like this .......I read it in the newspaper and and for all I know it might not be the ' whole' story.......if ya know what I mean.
http://blog.cleveland.com
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A-holes. Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.
There it is .....THANKS......I owe ya one!
Well don't that beat all.
For over 35 years I've been opening up walls to find some mere trinkets and about 75,000 razor blades.
I'll have a new lease on life the next time I make the plunge.A Great Place for Information, Comraderie, and a Sucker Punch.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
http://www.quittintime.com/
I'll bet the poor guy that owned the huuse before she did is kickin himself in the rear because dw was always after him to remodel that very bathroom!
"He was in his second day of gutting her bathroom when he found a box below the medicine cabinet"No wonder he needs to go after her money. He is so slow that it takes him two days to do a six hour job!;)
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A possible outcome is that a court concludes that the money belongs to the heirs of the guy who originally put it there. The homeowner and contractor may have screwed themselves by making it public, instead of quietly splitting it up.
Same logic from my very perceptive 14 year old. He agrees the rightful owner is kin to the person that placed it in the walls. Current homeowner has no more right to it than the contractor. Also, does the homeowner own the house free and clear or maybe the bank will want a cut of the 500k?
I am curious as to how the money was made (stolen? DB Cooper?). It appears to be $500 and $1,000 dollar bills. Thats why it is worth more than face value.
You get out of life what you put into it......minus taxes.
Marv
Edited 12/13/2007 9:08 am by Marv
the article said that he was a businessman who left a sizable fortune behind with no family to inherit.It also mentions that the new bills were 1929 issue, so it is possible he was not only a successful businessman, but that he was wise enough to have seen the recession coming and stashed the cash before the crash
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"the article said that he was a businessman who left a sizable fortune behind with no family to inherit."
Then the state has a claim. Thru the escheatment process.
Like someone said, shudda kept their mouths shut.
I once found a 1971 nickel while taking out base... I put it in my pocket without so much as a smile. Didn't want to give away my find.
$500 and $1000 bills are in very big demand by collectors. If they are in nice shape, this lot could go for a lot more than a half mill.
Speaking of ownership- What if the contractor found a skeleton inside a wall. Would the current HO own that, too? Guess it depends on what you find.
Who knows the stories of old buildings if the walls could talk.Well, Guess I have to learn how to do THAT, now!
It could very well go to the state.
And who has the biggest $s for class lawyers?
be is class lawyers a misnomer?and yer tax dollars at work.
Edited 12/13/2007 1:59 pm ET by rez
Or that it was illegal proceeds from the sale of booze . Fits the time line.
They can't get your Goat if you don't tell them where it is hidden.
OK, best possible outcome....A. The state gets the money and these two bozos ruefully realize their mistake in letting money come between them. The state takes Scrooge's money and spends it on some lavish gov't program like Head Start where Tiny Tim learns to read despite the odds against him. B. The courts order the contractor to pay for the 'extra' damage to her house that he caused, if he truly caused any.C. She pays him for work accomplished. B is equal to C. Not a Solomon-like decision...most Salome-like... but who's with me?
I'll buy that one, Salome.
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Piffin,
It was just on NBC a minute ago (or two). She said she would give him 10%. He wanted 40%. I would have been happy if she got it all, or more than happy to get 10%. By the time they are done in court, they wont have anything, but the pride that "They Won".
Dennis
If I were a betting man... I'd bet there is more to the story.... like a missing box before someone realized there was more where that came from.
Near the end of the article it quotes the greedy bastard as saying that he didn't want it all, just his 40%This after he has put a bunch of holes in the rest of her house looking for more and having the gall to say something like Rodney King - I don't know why we can't just get along....
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there are several homes in Chicago that have a few $5 bills in a stud bay..my thinking back then was that somebody would remodel at some point and hopefully tear the whole house apart looking for more.
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., wer ist jetzt der Idiot ?
You're just plain evil.
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On second thought, that's fairly fancy evil.
yes it is, and Thank You.....Thank You very much.
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., wer ist jetzt der Idiot ?
Hmmm...Well, that's a business.;)
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The article is not clear on this - you know how newspapers are on things like accuracy - but it said that there were no heirs apparent
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With 500K at stake, I'm betting a few relatives show up. If not, it may escheat to the state. Come to think of it, I believe my favorite uncle used to own that house. Was the money green? US currency? Yup, it's mine.
Yeah, I'm almost certain - no I'm 110% sure - that the Goobermint will end up with a pretty fair share of this.But relatives?They never showed up for share of a 2.7 million dollar fortune, why now for what might be 500K,but in face value is only 180K? That is a drop in the bucket compared to 2.7 million.I do know that if this was my house, I would be buying some fine ultrasonic/X-ray equipment to survey my walls, etc
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Maybe a T&M JOB!?
The most interesting thing I've ever found while opening walls came during a recent bathroom remodel.We found no less than seven empty bottles of Seagrams 7.From the sixties,when the house was built.Most were mortared in to the plaster "poops" in the bottom of the stud cavity and a few were under the tub.Maybe that explains the leaks and subsequent water damage.
Hey, welcome to Breaktime. Koo Koo Kachoo.
Don't get me wrong, I've stumbled across plenty of stuff that gave me a bit of excitement. Thought back to the history of it, admired the writings on the back of trim. Found a 7 shot "gamblers" gun that I partially refurbished and presented to the homowner. Coins, etc.
BUT MAN, LOOT LIKE THAT!-makes you wonder what you might do, don't it.
And no, never been greeted at the door by the babe in the open robe neither.
You get a chance, fill in your profile. Interesting and helpful if you should ask questions, or give answers for that matter.
Enjoy.A Great Place for Information, Comraderie, and a Sucker Punch.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
http://www.quittintime.com/
A contractor who doesn't consider this the homeowner's property should never be trusted to work in someone's home ever again. JMHO.
Edited 12/12/2007 9:43 pm by kenhill3
I agree. It's the homeowner's. They bout the house and everything included, therefore the money in the wals should be theirs.
My Dad and I think of this sort of thing all the time when going through old houses. I did find a nice size canvas bag of coins once, hidden under a staircase. Exciting. Turned out to be small denomination foreign coins. Doooohh! I gave them to the guy I was working with. Oh, the house was to be demolished for a large Super Shopright. No homeowner.
Jerry,
I grew up in Lakewood. Do you know what street or neighborhood that happened on?
They can't get your Goat if you don't tell them where it is hidden.
I only know what info is in the article........"..HEY PETE ISN'T THIS UP AROUND YOUR NECK OF THE WOODS?" btw.her name is Amanda Reece and the contractor is Bob Kitts.......I'm guessing that if he HAD a reputable business, thats shot all to heck now....agree?
Edited 12/13/2007 10:47 pm ET by JerryHill
I will have to e-mail some relatives I have who live in Lakewood and find out. Thanks anyway.
They can't get your Goat if you don't tell them where it is hidden.
I'd say the contractor was working at the direction of the HO, and presumably being paid a fair rate for the work. He's got no claim on anything he stumbles upon that is the rightful property of the HO. He should be more than happy with 10%. I might not have offered anything (though I probably would if he were a good bloke).
Scott.
Always remember those first immortal words that Adam said to Eve, “You’d better stand back, I don’t know how big this thing’s going to get.”
The real winners: The Lawyers.
Too bad the 99% of lawyers like this make the other 1% look bad.
The truly interesting part of the story is where he took a crowbar to other parts of her house without her permission.
Sounds like a $500,000.00 lawsuit right there, plus lawyers fees and damages for emotional stress.
They can't get your Goat if you don't tell them where it is hidden.
If that woman doesn't have a second bathroom...<shudder>...he's lucky just to be alive!
I don't know... My contract reads, all salvaged material unless previously specified belongs to the contractor. :)
My contract reads, all salvaged material unless previously specified belongs to the contractor
Then you could keep the old krapper and sink but the cash in the walls would be the HOers! :)
I'd argue (if I was the HO)that yea, I knew it was there, thought it would be safe from dishonest contractors! no difference then if I laid it on my table, nobody has the right to take the money that I leave laying around the house either!
Sorta makes you/anybody wonder "what would I do in that situation" easy to say what we'd do when we find a few bucks worth of loot but 1/2 mill will test ones character.
Doug
Have to admit, if I'm there by myself, no one around, I find 1/2 million... I'd like to say I'd certainly give it to the H/O.... on the other hand.. it be really tempting,
If he'd just put half in his pockets, then called her to say he'd found a fortune in her walls, refused to take a 'reward', then she'd be delighted, he'd be a hero, and they'd still be friends. At least until he got drunk and confessed... There's obviously a lesson to be learned here about how honesty is NOT the best policy, but rather that an ounce of perception is worth a pound of performance.
I'd like to say I'd certainly give it to the H/O.... on the other hand.. it be really tempting,
My thoughts exactly! Its easy to be a good honest contractor when the booty has a few dollars value but 1/2 mill? I'd like to think I'd do the right thing but I haven't had the fortune of finding 1/2 mill yet either!
Be wondering
He didn't have to tell her anything so you gotta give him some credit, I guess.......
Doug
Unless he called her because his imagination got the better of him and he had dreams of finding more.
Needed her permission to remodel a few more rooms.
They can't get your Goat if you don't tell them where it is hidden.
That contractor is a fool. I can't imagine he would get any of the money and he will probably get tagged for the HO's atty's fees as well.
when i was a teen i was helping my dad remodel a American legion, We opened up under the podium and there were machine guns and tommy guns they had put there years ago, I wanted at least one tommy gun but my dad an x seabee refused and said the guns belonged to the legion , They did let me play with them after they made sure they were unloaded. I wiped out 2 battalions of Japanese banzai chargers and my afternoon study hall, Then had to go back to pulling nails.
Wow... I thought this was one of those 'urban myths.'
I should be so lucky...
i would take the 500 grand and roof till it was gone
The taxman has a claim.
The heir of the original owner have a claim.
If illegal activities can be alleged, then the government may simply seize it.
Both contractor and homeowner will be deluged with new friends, business offers, phone calls, etc .... they'll rue the day the money was found.
Especially since the only ones who will get it are the lawyers.
why do the hiers of a previous owner have any claim to it?
any legit claim anyway?
The heirs would argue that the money was 'lost,' rather than 'abandoned.' As such, it never stopped belonging to the original owner. As heirs, they would claim that ownership of the money passed to them as part of the estate. Would the court go for it? I don't know .... but there's enough of a claim to interest a lawyer in running up some billable hours.
Especially since the only ones who will get it are the lawyers.
Is this a great country or what? :-)
This is one great country!;)
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"different" would fit better...
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