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I'm damned sure not going to voluntarily expend time and energy w/out compensation.

Do you have an employee who could be at the location, to grant access to the leasing company? You might be able to collect for that employee's time and travel, with a reasonable mark-up to cover your administrative costs.

As always, consult your lawyer.

You asked for legal opinions. You were given legal opinions. You're going to ignore the legal opinions.

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Originally posted by ensigmatic:
You asked for legal opinions. You were given legal opinions. You're going to ignore the legal opinions.

Some people have a low tolerance for detail.

I am a landlord in Utah, one of the most landlord friendly states in the USA. Even here, you cannot use tenant’s property to compensate your lost rents. If you have to move the equipment and store it, you can charge for those costs. But for selling it to pay the rent? That’s a big no-no.

It is interesting that you assert the equipment is of so little value that the owner will probably abandon it, but then want to sell it yourself to recover your losses. Those statements seem opposed to each other. If your business is renting real property, get the stuff in storage and get a new tenant as quickly as possible. Trying to have a yard sale with tenant’s possessions is not worth the legal risk or the trouble.

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You need to speak to an attorney in your area.

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Just call your lawyer. Like much of this stuff, it probably varies from state to state.
The lawyer may have some ideas to protect you if you can recover some part of rent out of any of the items left behind.

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As always, consult your lawyer.

I agree with nearly everyone here: consult your lawyer. If you don't have one, talk to other landlords and get recommendations. Talk to a few before hiring someone.

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As others mentioned the leasing company should have contracts with the tenant listing the property with serial numbers, etc. They have the right to repossess it. Just like a bank getting a car back if the buyer stops making payments. Your financial claim against the tenant is separate.

Yes, your claim is against your tenant. Do you intend to pursue the "$4200 rent in arrears"? An attorney will want to see the terms of the l/t contract. Also, you will want to consider whether the former tenant is "judgment proof".

Do you have a new tenant?

I will be blunt. If you do anything without consulting a lawyer in your state, you are a fool.

I am a Texas lawyer, and I don't know the answer in your state.

I would make a guess, based on experience and a gut feel, that you can't keep the coolers if they have a valid lien, but I don't know that is the answer. But any lawyer who handles commercial leases in your state can answer this question quickly. There may be steps you could take to protect yourself.

To the people who offer advice: Why? Many of you clearly don't know what you are talking about. I suppose I shouldn't complain, because when you act without advice, you create problems for yourself that you then have to hire me to fix.

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Originally posted by jhe888:
I will be blunt. If you do anything without consulting a lawyer in your state, you are a fool.

I am a Texas lawyer, and I don't know the answer in your state.

I would make a guess, based on experience and a gut feel, that you can't keep the coolers if they have a valid lien, but I don't know that is the answer. But any lawyer who handles commercial leases in your state can answer this question quickly. There may be steps you could take to protect yourself.

To the people who offer advice: Why? Many of you clearly don't know what you are talking about. I suppose I shouldn't complain, because when you act without advice, you create problems for yourself that you then have to hire me to fix.

You just made a guess, and then chided everybody else for doing the same. I suppose you know the answer to your question.

Why should the OP pay for legal or any other advice when such good advise is available for free right here on this forum. Like every other question posed or requests to be "schooled" on something, it is just an opportunity for dumbasses like us to give retarded advice to people who should know better than to ask for something for nothing.

Now for my opinion on the original question. Snap a picture of the coolers and sell them on craigslist, apply any money you get from the sale to the back rent (less documented sales expenses). Keep a record of the transaction and show whatever proceeds you get as rent (tax man has got to be paid yo).

And who is the bigger fool? The fool who expects something for free? The fool who offers up a worthless opinion for free? Or the fool who points out that the others are fools and in doing so joins the foolishness? This entire forum is for entertainment, I assert that the only fool is the one that thinks otherwise.

This is the answer you need to find out first.

UCC's are cheap to get, we file them anywhere we warehouse material. I would be surprised if they didn't cover their ass if the equipment is worth anything.

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Originally posted by Oz_Shadow:
You may want to use an attorney to see if they filed a UCC-1 financing statement and perfected their security interest.

But I acknowledged it was a guess, and advised he ask someone who really knows. Many others just told him what to do as if they actually know. Also, my guess comes after 23 years of practicing law.

The OP asked for actual advice, not entertainment. He wants useful help. Sure, we should all know that we should take advice received here with appropriate caution, but the man wanted help, and people who don't really know what they are talking about shouldn't chime in.

I don't give people medical advice, or plumbing advice.

Damn there is lots of vitriol in some of these replies and to those snarky replies my reply is pound sand. You know what they say about opinions.

No, I have no tenant and I'm not particularly interested in one. I have the property listed for sale and the broker has the keys. I have a set, too. I've had a real estate brokers license since the late 70s and know a little about how things work but this was a chance for some conversation that was not about the virus. not particularly important in the overall scheme of things and I truly don't care much one way or the other. I'm going to do what I think is right, just as I always have. I'm not going to steal the equipment nor am I going to help them load it. The leasing company was/is sloppy in operating their business and when you are sloppy there is generally a price to pay. Thanks for the replies and I've got all the advice I need.

Were it me, my concern would be to get the equipment back to the rightful owner and out of my building as soon as possible just to keep things simple and the building free and clear. Or get something legal and binding showing the equipment to be legally mine.

My thinking would be that if I refused access to the equipment or sold the equipment off for personal profit, the rightful owner might at some point take me to court for resolution and worst case scenario, the judge would hold me responsible for the equipment and find I needed to compensate the rightful owner for the equipment. After all, possession is nine tenths of the law and I'd be responsible for it.

Furthermore, the responsibility of compensating you for your "time and effort" regarding the equipment is on you to legally pursue action against the former tenant. It's not the responsibility of the folks who leased the equipment out to compensate you for anything except out of the goodness of their heart, if at all.

Basically what it sounds to me like is that you're stealing equipment that doesn't belong to you, otherwise.

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I know a little about how things work but this was a chance for some conversation that was not about the virus... Thanks for the replies and I've got all the advice I need.

Well, there you go! You got conversation and advice, worth exactly what you paid for it!

Laws vary enormously from state to state.

One thing you cannot do anywhere is deprive the lawful owner of their property.

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It's not a big deal to me one way or the other but I'm damned sure not going to voluntarily expend time and energy w/out compensation. Wouldn't be pruden

If anyone owes you compensation it's your former tenant, not the owner of the property you're holding unlawfully... and even that is debatable.

Demanding recompense to return the property is arguably another offense, at least in Colorado.

You are demanding they perform an act (paying you money) or else you will perform an illegal act (keeping their property) which act would cause them harm (the financial loss associated). That’s extortion, and it’s a felony.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: tanksoldier,

I can give you an example that is similar in nature and takes place everyday.

A business sells Coke products, and Coke supplies them with a fancy True merchandiser to sell Coke products. Business goes under and an auction company comes in to sell the assets. Somebody at the auction buys the cooler.

There's a little barcode and tag on that cooler that says "property of Coke". If Coke was so inclined, which they sometimes are, they will send the police to gather their stolen items if they are discovered. Doesn't matter who sold it, who bought it, or why they are in possession of it. If Coke didn't give it to them to use, it's not theirs to possess.

As somebody who was once in the repo business, getting a replevin is certainly possible. But why go through all of that effort if you can verify the veracity of their claim?

I do not know. But I know what JAllen would say: