Abandoned Vehicles Left on our Property

Comments(9)

• 
  planders_9910th February, 2003

  Check with the state dept of motor vehicles and see if you can file for salvage title. Tell them the situation, and they should be able to help you out.
  
  -Pete

• 
  DaveT10th February, 2003

  I have the following clause in my lease just for this contingency:
  
  "Abandoned Property. Any property which is left on the Premises for more than seven (7) days after the termination of this Lease or the expiration of the term of this Lease or after Tenant has vacated the Premises shall be deemed to be abandoned by Tenant or other owner and shall, at Landlord/Agent's option, become Landlord/Agent's property and Landlord/Agent may dispose of it without liability to Tenant or other owner, all at the expense of Tenant."
  
  Never happened with a car before, so I don't have any first hand experience here. Would you please come back to the board and tell us how you resolved this question?

• 
  joel10th February, 2003

  This is kind of a tough call. Cause, I don't think the cars are the tenants. He worked on cars to raise money for rent, I guess. (Not allowed in the lease) but I called the States Dept. of Motor Vehicles and am trying to apply for the salvage title.
  
  I have claimed items before that were left, but not four vehicles!
  
  Well, lookie here. This is what is in my own lease.
  Quote:ABANDONMENT 21. If Resident removes or attempts to remove property from the premises other than in the usual course of continuing occupancy, without having first paid Management all monies due, residence may be considered abandoned, and Management shall have the right without notice, to store or dispose of any property remaining on the premises by Resident. Management shall also have the right to store or dispose of any of Resident’s property remaining on the premises after the termination of this agreement. Any such property shall be considered Management’s property and the title thereto shall vest in Management.[ Edited by joel on Date 02/10/2003 ]

• 
  RepoMan10th February, 2003

  joel,
  Today may be your lucky day!!!. 1st of all for the vehicles that you have no interest in, you need to contact a private property towing company to remove them. The police will not get involved because it is private property. The PPT company should not charge you to remove them. They will tow them and then notify the lienholders or owners. If they do not respond, they can then file for title. As far the the car that you want to keep...DO NOT FILE FOR SALVAGE TITLE!!!! Salvage vehicles cannot be registered, only used for salvage (parts). Let the vehicle sit there for a while. If the customer comes back for the vehicle, charge him storage. Find out if there are any laws governing what can be charged. Usually $35.00/day is the average for abandoned cars in NJ. Next If the owner does not respond, there is a title company called American Lien. They are nationwide. Call them and they will do a title search, send certified mail to owner or lienholder requesting that storage be paid. Usually a $250.00 fee (owner will pay if he redeems) If this is not satisfied you get the title (clean title)!!!!!!!!!! vrooom vrooom!
  If you need the # to American Lien e-mail me at max@repoman1.com and I will supply you with it.
  
  Repoman

• 
  DaveT10th February, 2003

  Thanks for the heads up on this question RepoMan.
  
  Joel, I find it interesting that paragraph 21 in your lease deals with Abandonment. The Abandoned Property clause I quoted from my lease is also my paragraph 21. I wonder if there is some master lease form somewhere and both our lawyers are going to the same source.

• 
  RepoMan11th February, 2003

  joel,
  one more thing. Check with your local police department for 2 things. Some departments will issue a abandoned vehicle ticket. If the Owner does not show up to court, which he will not cause the ticket is on his car, the court will send him a failure to appear notice. This usually gets them to respond to you. Next some department will also right up an incident report of the abandoned vehicle. this is simply a report that they have gone out and witnessed that this vehicle is on your property. Great tool if the owner ever takes you to court and challenges the length of time that you stored the vehicle.
  Most likely will never happen. Buts its a great feeling when you say "Your Honor here is my proof BAAAMMMMM! case closed!
  Repoman

• 
  travisluedke22nd February, 2003

  I am not sure about getting title to the vehicle you want to claim, but I have found a way to get rid of vehicles left behind.
  
  At first I thought I could just call the towing company and have them tow at no expense. They told me if it was a peice of $%& they would charge me for it.
  
  I then found out that If the vehicle sits on public access it will be towed by the city at the title holder's expense.
  
  So I gracefully put the vehicle in the alleyway(jerked it off the blocks and dragged it there). The city kindly towed it away two days later.
  
  I would not suggest that you let the city catch you moving the vehicle. Don't forget to remove any useful parts before you put it in the street.

• 
  MarkB22nd February, 2003

  You can file for an abandoned title in some states where the vehicle is abandoned for a specified period of time.
  
  I have one on a property I may be doing ....... let you know how it turns out....
  At any rate ask around and see if you have that ability in your state.
  
  Mark

• 
  joel22nd February, 2003

  Well, it turns out that 3 of the 4 cars have already been moved (either by the old owners fo the cars or by theft). Either way I am just glad the cars are gone.
  
  I still have to get an old crappy early 90's Grand Am that is up on blocks off the property. I will see if I can call a towing company that will tow it for free.