I have been dying to get on and see if there was a thread about this.
I used to be a homebuilder but turned into a renovation contractor last May when my boss said “It is just not working out”. Still building a few homes on my own but most of my business is renovation.
I would love to find something buried in a wall someday that is worth something.
There is a big buzz about this contractor finding $182K in monies from the 20’s and told the client and gave the $$$ to the client. Now they are feuding cause the contractor went home and realized he should get some $$$ for his kids college or a big rock for his wife or something.
I am ammending my contracts to say that I will dispose of everything that that I remove and I will either keep, sell, donate or dispose of in a legal disposal facility, as I see fit.
I dont think I would tell the client and my wife thinks I am a jerk and asked how I could sleep at nite.
I am overly fair and honest with my clients and dont charge for extras when I should as I want to service my clients and work the opportunity for a referral. It has paid off on 90+% of my projects and I will continue that way as that is my personality but if I find gold buried in the walls from some previous owner, I think that I will throw it in the back of the truck with the rest of the trash. (to be sorted once I leave the job)
What does everyone think??/
Replies
It belongs to the homeowner.
It belongs to the homeowner.
I found a dildo in a wall once. Should I have returned that to the owner?
edit: I didn't return it. I put it in a workmate's lunchbox after lunch. He always bragged about his wife packing his lunch.
http://grantlogan.net/
My mother once said to me, "Elwood" -- she always called me Elwood -- "Elwood, in this world you must be oh so smart or oh so pleasant." For years I tried smart. I recommend pleasant.
Elwood P. Dowde (James Stewart), "Harvey"
Edited 12/14/2007 7:13 pm ET by seeyou
Smart thing to do would have been to left the dildo in the wall. Doubt I could have either though.Retired until my next job.
Well, I've been accused of doing many things, but "the smart thing" is not on that list.http://grantlogan.net/
My mother once said to me, "Elwood" -- she always called me Elwood -- "Elwood, in this world you must be oh so smart or oh so pleasant." For years I tried smart. I recommend pleasant.
Elwood P. Dowde (James Stewart), "Harvey"
May not have been the smart thing but probably was the right thing, or pretty close.Retired until my next job.
Roar! Now that was funny right there!
Did I tell ya about when I was an exterminater and got a call for a "flea Job"?
Woman calls has fleas..we set it up for a day when she had followed our instructions to vacuume really good, toss out the bag afterwards, and have everything that she could move, up off the floor so we could spray as much carpet as possible.
That day came, she left the door unlocked or hid a key, I forget which, and we went in and began fan spraying the floors and furniture. I took the upstairs, my partner took the downstairs.
As I was doing the bedroom, I lifted the sham and sprayed under the bed ( as usual) and I heard the spray hit something..so I looked under and Oh MY GOD, every kinda sex toy you could imagine..and handcuffs, and rope..I mean she was packin.
I KNEW I couldn't just forget it, I mean I just doused it with Dursban and Ficam , kinda poisonous in certain ways..
So, I called out for my partner and he came up and looked.
We decided it best to try to rinse off the poison, there was a master bath right there..so I had the honors of dong that while he went to the basement and finished up.
So I had a few funny looking dildos and strapon type things in the sink basin and on the counter and I heard a weird gasp..I looked over at the door, and saw that she had just got home ( coat still on, holding her purse) and saw me washing the toys..LOL
She FAINTED! FooM! Hit the floor with a THUD.
Oh chriist, oh christ is all I could say..well, we got her up on her bed, she seemed OK, ( and I think pretended to still be Unconscious) so we left the bill on the kitchen table and snuck away real quiet like..LOLSpheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
"People that never get carried away should be"
THAT is one of the best stories I've ever read here!I don't care if it's true or not, LOLShoot - you can't MAKE something like that up!;)
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
100% Gods Honest truth, If I could find my ex-partner in Pa, I'd give his fone # and you could ask him.
We had a biz called B&L Pest Control, outta Horsham Pa, we bought it from a guy and his wife. Bernie and Louise.
Man that was some crazy times, but that day took the cake.Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
"People that never get carried away should be"
I was kidding around. I do believe it. I found some 'stuff' trying to move a bed to fix some window casing once.
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
I got used to accidently spraying shoes and stuff that might be under a bed, but considering WHERE these items get used...I was a little more concerned..LOL
Maybe if I left em all alone, she'd never have an "infestation" , down "there" .
Folks were always instructed to have the cat/dog AT the vet or Groomer for a dip, at the time we were treating the house, one other time, a lady left the cat at home, and IT was under the bed..I got it full in the face..lucky, it lived OK.Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
"People that never get carried away should be"
Damn...you outdid yourself on that one...<wiping tears>
Its a shame she never had the time to see how embarassed *I* was! Geeze, whats a fella to do?
Now I recall, we leftthe bill with "N/C" on it.Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
"People that never get carried away should be"
How'd the fleas get there in the first place?
She entertain the neighbor dogs?
Worst that ever happened to me was when a nice, rich doctor and his wife for whom i'd made a table invited me to stay at their gorgeous ranch the next time i did a show in Spokane. I did, it was lovely, and the last morning before i left rather early i wanted to say 'thanks' for the hospitality. I called up the stairs that i was leaving and i only heard the rising end of of "don't COME UP!" So i cautiously obeyed what i thought i heard and rounded the newel post to find them in flagrante delicto. Nothing like a red-faced retreat to top off a perfectly wonderful weekend.
We said very congenial hellos at shows thereafter, but neither one of us wanted to chance recapping the experience so i stayed in town after that.
...so I had the honors of dong that...
Sorry, couldn't resist.
be sphereKed*
Yikes!
Ah hell, I'll leave it that way..
it is...
"fitting' LOLSpheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
"People that never get carried away should be"
Did you get her phone number?
Of course, we called every customer the night before, to remind them we were on the way the next day. We had about 300 steady stops ( about 10 or so a day) and also a yellow page ad, for new customers.
She was kinda hot, single, 2 cats. I was married then. I think my wife woulda frowned on the ideas I had.
Sold the bizniss a year later, never was really what I wanted to be doing.Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
"People that never get carried away should be"
I wonder if a studfinder would have picked up that dildo? Probably if it was a Bosch studfinder (right, IMERC)? On second thought, that would have been a false reading...
Billy
I guess my spin on it is not my house, I'm hired to do a job. Nobody could forsee that I'd find the lotto in there. Ain't mine, give it to the HO. If they wanted to send me a thank you at Christmas I'd accept it but I certainly wouldnt feel entitled as that schlep does. Frankly I hope he loses, badly. Hes the village idiot in my eyes.
Real trucks dont have sparkplugs
I saw that newstory online about the $182K and there's no way in heck that I would ever agree that the money belongs to anybody but the homeowner.
The dude is trying to use a law about finding abandoned treasure to make his alleged point and stake his claim, but I'll betcha dimes to dollars he will not prevail in court.
And meanwhile, his reputation in his locale will forever be negatively impacted. I mean, think about it - if you were a HO in his area of service, would you choose him over somebody else, ifn you needed work done on your place?
"Don't worry about the world coming to an end today.
It's already tomorrow in Australia "
(Charles Schultz)
http://forums.taunton.com/n/mb/message.asp?webtag=tp-breaktime&msg=98201.1
.
A-holes. Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.
Well....
I think about what I would feel if I was the home owner (or in your case You are) and if my response would change as a result of being on the other side of the issue.
Hope you never have anybody but yourself work on your old house.
It belongs to the homeowner.
Years ago my boss got into a heck of a little deal over found money. I'm not sure about the whole circumstances. But the outline of the story is. He removed some small cash lockers from a bank and took them to the dump. Later it was discovered that something like a hundred grand was missing. I don't remember what transpired as a result of the money missing but I know that it was written off and cleared out of the system. He found out about it after the fact. It really had him curious so he went back out to the dump and found the cash lockers. He got them open and discovered the money. He took it back. The result was one person lost their job and they pretty much told him that the next time it would be better if he didn't bring it back. It all happened years before I started there and I can't remember the story exactly but that was the Gist of it.
"If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure." Dan Quayle.
So you're saying that if you find $182K sitting on the table in the HO's house, that you'd take it because you found it? You sound like one of my sons.
What's the difference between on the table and in the wall?
Methinks you need some ethics lessons from your wife. She's a good one. Keep her. She'll keep you out of trouble.
eggzactly!
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
I'm used to collecting a lot of salvage off job sites. White-collar clients aren't, for the most part, interested in trying to find homes for used toilets and so on. And little old ladies don't collect their copper, either.
So maybe that fosters a certain mindset. Look at it this way: let's say you bought a used car. You took it into the shop to get safety tested. If the mechanic found money hidden somewhere in the vehicle, would you think:
1. Lucky guy, good for him! Or
2. This was the best used car I ever bought!
C'mon, this is ridiculous. The homeowner bought that money when they purchased the property. They just didn't know it. Neither did the vendor. It doesn't matter.
Edited 12/14/2007 9:50 pm ET by Biff_Loman
Stealing is stealing. Thou shall not steal. Period! End of statement.
sounds different when you put the right word to it like that, doesn't it?there was a case sometime in the past year that we discussed here, about some guys re-roofing a house someplace in the northeast, I think, and they found some old coin in the attic and kept it.They got convicted of stealing.
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
I don't mean to come off as a person who hasn't done anything wrong. I've done some nasty things in the past.
But invariably I would get caught or my conscience would trouble me. I like to sleep soundly with a clear conscience.
So in the end, for me, it might just be self centered to do what is right.
It's to bad I didn't learn that lesson earlier.
I think your position is ridiculous and unethical. The material belongs to the homeowner, not you. Furthermore, you have an obligation to tell them if you find something hidden, like money. Your failure to tell them about it just makes you seem more like a thief.
Don K.
EJG Homes Renovations - New Construction - Rentals
I found a dime by the roll-off dumpster on Tuesday.
Set it on the door sill.
It's still there today.
If it isn't mine, I don't keep it. I learned that when I was five.
Mitch
MRockwell:"If it isn't mine, I don't keep it. I learned that when I was five."There are no truer, simpler words.If you would be willing to take what isn't yours I wouldn't want you in my house, let alone working on it.
i went to a small auction one time,only had 50 things and a pc of real estate.guy in his 30's had got sick,died and left a kid behind who was with his grandparents.
so there's a small safe to sell and the auctioneer forgot about it till the end.so it's just me and a couple others standing there and it's locked.i make the jokeif i buy it do i get everything in it.well we all laughed it probably had 1,000's inside and i bought it for 25.00.
got home got it open,empty,dang. then i noticed that the door had another door to unlock.opened it and there was probably 100 pieces of old money. man i was having a ball.... next day called auctioneer told him i needed the sellers address. i thought about how dad had collected this money and the kid was out there and this was more valueable to him than what it was really worth...
now i find 180k thats worth 500k.........................well we all have a price don't we? whats yours? larry
if a man speaks in the forest,and there's not a woman to hear him,is he still wrong?
I already know my price. Its one million. Only in a lump sum. Otherwise the homeowner gets the money.
whats funny about this story is,if they would of both reached a agreement that afternoon,lets say builder gets 50k and owner gets 130k [remember this has a value of 500k now] they both win .
now value for irs purposes 500k - 1/2 250 left. 2 lawyers at 75k a piece 100 left.even if the winner gets it all they still lost a lot.
do you suppose that the owner could plead to the irs that these were improvements that were paid for when they bought the house,and now were finally removing them from safe storage?? kinda like a expensive chandilerlarry
if a man speaks in the forest,and there's not a woman to hear him,is he still wrong?
I like the table and car examples.If the homeowner left 180 thousand, (or even 500 thousand), dollars under the dresser in their bedroom... And forgot about it for several years... And you "found" it there when you moved the dresser to start work, painting the walls, one morning... Would you feel that you deserved to keep the moeny ?Ok, what if the Homeowner's father had left that money under the dresser, and the homeowner never knew about it. Or the homeowner was a woman whose husband had died and never told her about the money. What if her husband had left it in the wall and never told her about it ? How is that any different from leaving it under the dresser ? Then who cares whether it was the woman's now dead husband, or just some old fart that owned the house 40 years ago ?The homeowner obviously owns the property. That money is a part of the property she bought. Just as the fixtures on the bathtub, the dirt under the living room carpet, the flakes of paint on the floor in the back of the pantry, and the doorknob on the front door are.She owned the plaster and lath that the jerk tore off the wall, and she owned the money that was behind it.The money is the homeowner's, no differently if it is in the wall, than if it was on the table or under the dresser.The guy further proved what a greedy bastidge he is, by tearing out other walls in her house, without her permission, looking for more money. What GALL !!!If I were her, I'd have his arse arrested for vandalism. And sue him for the damages, etc...If I were ME, I'd break both his knees and let him drag himself home.
Edited 12/14/2007 11:50 pm by Luka
there is a link somewhere to the article. when you first hear about this i think most reactions are,it belongs to the homeowner. but after you read the story and how law applies it is not near so clear cut. the finders keepers law goes clear back to english law.
one thing in homeowners favor is,the worker found 25k[?] in the wall and called her.once she was there the discoverd the rest of it together 150k[?]. so it looks like to me the worker only has a possible right to the 25k,the owner "found" the rest.
maybe someone will link that story. larryif a man speaks in the forest,and there's not a woman to hear him,is he still wrong?
The link to the other thread with the link to the story is in this thread.If that all makes sense to you let me know and I will try to make it even more confusing.About the comments to the IRS I am not sure, but I think that there is no tax on the orginal amount (to the HO) as it was bought with the house.But if it sold as a collectable then there would be collectable taxes (25% IIRC) and not capitacl gains on the difference..
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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.
"collectable taxes"
And I thought I had heard of all of them. Can you direct me towards more information about such "taxes?" I haven't heard of this one!
What a tangled web it all becomes.
Best thing to do?? Tell no one, seal the loot back in the wall for some other poor fool to find another 50 years down the line. Well, Guess I have to learn how to do THAT, now!
More accaurately it is a capital gains tax on collectable items.Instead of the common 5/15% on LT CG there is a 28% rate for collectables.Looking it up I see that it is 28 not 25%.http://www.usnews.com/usnews/biztech/articles/060629/29capitalgains.htm"But there's a rub that irritates art dealers, investors in coins and precious metals, and others who roam about outside the stock market. Profit from paintings, other artwork, antiques, and "collectibles" such as stamps and coins is taxed as high as 28 percent, almost double the top rate on securities. Included in the definition of a collectible is gold and silver bullion. Also collectibles, says the IRS, are investment coins that substitute for bullion, such as the American Eagle and the recently introduced American Buffalo, though some dealers and collectors mistakenly believe otherwise.Gilbert Edelson, administrative vice president of the Art Dealers Association of America, says the treatment of artwork penalizes those who assist cultural growth by investing in such items. The higher tax on precious metals punishes portfolio diversification, argues Michael DiRienzo, executive director of the metal industry's Silver Institute. He notes that even exchange-traded funds that track the price of gold and silver are subject to the higher capital-gains tax. (ETFs are a type of security that trades like a stock.)".
.
A-holes. Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.
OK, I remember. But never had any personal situation that involved it.
Thanks.
"OK, I remember. But never had any personal situation that involved it."So you are saying that you never sold any of those Piccaso's or Rembrant's that you have haning on your walls <G>.But I was surprised to see that the collectables included bullion and substitutes..
.
A-holes. Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.
Edited 12/15/2007 4:02 pm by BillHartmann
Is it/was it yours...........?
No?
You have no claim.
Does anyone other than you know?
No?
You still have no claim.
Do you have a conscience?
No?
I'm sorry!
What if the situation were reversed? Now what are your answers? What price do you place upon your word, your integrity, your reputation?
When the money is gone, what's left?
Remember, you gotta' look at yourself SOMEDAY.
...your mileage may vary...
...The unspoken word is capital. We can invest it or we can squander it. -Mark Twain...
Be kind to your children....they will choose your nursing home.
...aim low boys, they're ridin' shetland ponies !!
It's clear that many of you believe that I dont have any ethics.
First of all, I have not stolen anything in approximately 36 years. (I was five and stole a pocket full peanuts from the Acme and Mom made us go back and apologize to the Manager of the store)
I am overly fair to my clients.
I dont know the law and not planning on researching it.
I think the contractor is a dope for going to court on it and agree that he is hanging himself.
If you are going to argue that the owner bought the house and the $ in it, why should they not research who owned the house when the money was stashed and find them or their decendents and give them the $. Perhaps that family needs it more than the current owner or me.
If you are going to get on a high horse with honor and ethics, you gotta go all the way, cant stop with the lucky person who bought the home packed with money!!
Now if the home was in the family since before the $$ was stashed in the walls, i would feel like I was stealing from them and could not walk away with the money, but I still stand by my origonal position otherwise.
I don't know legal from not legal-nor right from wrong
but i do know--fair is fair
If I am working on somebodies house--and found money like that-- I know I didn't put the money there-----so it ain't really mine
BUT---- the current homeowner didn't put the money there----he didn't even KNOW it was there-----any more than the previous homeowner.
to me--fair is fair---------to me--if a contractor working on MY house comes and says---hey--we found $180,000 buried in your walls--------well fair is fair---- I would split it 50/50 with the contractor----because if the contractor hadn't found it-- I still would have had the money.
Frankly,imho--the homeowner is as big a dirtbag as the contractor
tell me true---- wouldn't YOU as the homeowner--split the money happily with the contractor???????? I wouldn't even think about it--done deal---no other arrangement would even occur to me----win/win
as the contractor i would probably assume the same thing------but i am not very smart.
stephen
I think it's time to bring in MartinGunner to judge the scene.
I have to agree with Stephen on that one.
"If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure." Dan Quayle.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0x8B6C54ggY&feature=related
Stephen,As the homeowner, I would offer.As the contractor, I would -not- expect. Nor would I consider the HO to be a dirtbag if they didn't offer.
I would rather try to be kind, and fail miserably, than not care enough to try in the first place.
"I am overly fair to my clients. "Exactly what IS "overly fair" ???Is that like "A little bit pregnant" ?;o)
I would rather try to be kind, and fail miserably, than not care enough to try in the first place.
Overly fair is not a good description.
I go over and above the scope of work for my clients and avoid charging them extra unless it is a large undertaking.
Most of my peers locally tell me I should charge for each extra item that I complete, but that is not how I choose to run my business. I would call it extra pregnant.
If you are going to argue that the owner bought the house and the $ in it, why should they not research who owned the house when the money was stashed and find them or their decendents and give them the $. Perhaps that family needs it more than the current owner or me.
Because the current owner bought the house and all it's contents leagally, now what if the previous owner came back and said "I left some possesions in the wall, can I bust up the wall and retrieve it? then what would you say?
If you are going to get on a high horse with honor and ethics, you gotta go all the way, cant stop with the lucky person who bought the home packed with money!!
No you don't, legally and morally the money belongs to the current home owner, and no one else.
Stephens got the best idea.
Geoff
The big difference is, the current owner is the one who owns the house. You, as contractor, are not the owner of the house. Why people think this gives them the right to own whatever they find is beyond me. Can I go wander through your house, and take whatever I find that I consider 'hidden'?
Please do come clean out my house. I am sick and tired of all the stuff that is around here that we dont use. (lol)
Re. the money in the walls, maybe I will turn into a criminal if I ever find enough.
Dont know unless I cross that road but till then, I wont loose any sleep either way.
"I don't know the law and not planning on researching it."A statement like this makes you not only look unethical, but ignorant as well.
Intentionally ignorant.It is a principle of contract law that even if two people agree to the terms of a contract, said terms are unenforceable when they are contradictory to established law.
It is always important to have an attorney review contract language with that in mind before signing it.
There may even be times when the contract becomes prima facie evidence of intent to defraud or of conspiracy in breaking the law.You are saying "I don't care what the speed limit is and I don't want to know. I just want to get there as fast as I can, good sense be damned"
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
Interesting how you interperit what I am typing.
I know many laws, I am just not interested in knowing the law if I find money in someones walls. (I expect to never need to know it either)
I am quite familiar with contract law and had the unfortunate opportunity to work in corporate america for 20 years and dealt with too many lawyers.
If I need to learn something, I reach out and get educated on it. Until then, if I happen upon info, I might remember it and might not.
"had the unfortunate opportunity to work in corporate america for 20 years and dealt with too many lawyers."That clears up the source for your background in ethics, I guess.
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
"If you are going to argue that the owner bought the house and the $ in it, why should they not research who owned the house when the money was stashed and find them or their decendents and give them the $."
Perhaps they should research the previous owners. However, the current owner's failure to seek out previous owners does nothing to strengthen your claim to it. It's not yours. Period. Listen to SWMBO.
sorry,but u jerk
I'd think about keeping it
For about thirty seconds
I'd have a hard time sleeping with myself if I kept it.
And apparently you would have a hard time sleeping with your wife if you kept it.
Your contract language would not cover you either. Standard in the industry is for the contractor to keep and/or dispose of salvage materials unless otherwise stipulated. I do not need to go into all the reasons for that, but it is based on the concept that it is trash, of dubious value, and not wise to keep around the typical residence.
Your imagined findings do not fall into that category.
Also, by your standards, if you take your car in to have it detailed and serviced,, if the person working on it opens the truck and discovers your camera in there, it is his, or some cash you leave in the console.
Welcome to the
Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime.
where ...
Excellence is its own reward!
I have never found anything of real monetary value on a jobsite.
There is a part of me that believes that taking found treasure on private property is stealing... and another part of me that believes in "finders, keepers".
In either case, I would still have to live with the decision I made at that instant.
I would do one of two things... either call the homeowner at the instant something of value was found- and all work would cease until the homeowner returned (mainly to protect myself from accusations of skimming something), or simply rebury it in a nearby wall for the future.
I have found a few old playboys in attics and behind walls , I take them and BURN them so no young lad sees the evil pictures and sets coarse on a wayward path such as i have tread, tortured for the rest of my days by the sight of womans flesh.
Years ago, my wife convinced me to do her girl friend a favor and renovate her kitchen in a small bungalow she barely could afford to meet the monthly loan payments on.
Some one in our town had re done their kitchen and was selling all the existing cabinets and counter tops for very little,
so we bought
.The young wife had 6 children and her husband skipped out shortly before the youngest was born.
The house seemed to be constructed in the 1900's as a summer beach bungallow. The old kitchen seemed made by a 'handyman' so, when she asked me should she should keep the old cupboard or toss it, I convinced her it was jerry built and had no redeeming qualities.
Later, I climbed up a ladder to figure out how to remove it without too much patching,when lo and behold, I found someone's cache of four twenty dollar bills tucked into the crown molding..
She wasn't at home when I found it, but when she returned,I handed her the eighty bucks.
She wouldn't accept the money, (thinking I was really trying to be charitable)
Only after her two little sons(who helped me sweep up,) convinced her I really did find the dusty old cash, did she take the money.
Those boys are now daddies and probably remember the time
'Uncle Eddie' convinced them to sweep up, because I found loose change in the rubble. Of course, when they couldn't find anymore nickels,they lost interest in sweeping. When their heads were turned I tossed a few dimes into the pile and re-motivated them.
Edited 12/16/2007 12:54 am ET by Steinmetz
To be honest I think you are a crook.
The owner of the house owns the money in the walls too. Where do you draw the line? If the money fell out of my pocket on the way out of the house and you found it in the front foyer is it yours?
I'd love to hear the logic behind you tearing out a wall, finding something of great value that belongs to someone else, and you have claim to it somehow. Is it not enough getting paid to do your job in the first place?
Why is it if everyone thinks they are entitled to the clients good fortune? Remember they own the walls correct?
To:All
Maybe I have larceny on the brain, but let me run this up the morality flagpole.
Leave the money in the wall where you found it... Finish the job up to even better than your usual top notch standards (because you are going to end up owning the place). Then come back in a few months and tell the owner, " When I was working on your place I just fell in love with it and would like to buy it from you"...Offer way over market value. Remember there is a $500K cushion to play with. You make a deal, close on the property, and get the key. How many hours, (minutes) before you are back in that wall retrieving what is now your stack of bills...all nice and legal. You just had a little insider information, that happens all the time in real estate deals. Would that pass the smell test.
Gary
ROAR!
That is a sweet and a very good idea.
“Some people wonder all their lives if they've made a difference. The Marines don't have that problem.” Reagan....
Failure is the condiment that gives success its flavor. -Truman Capote
I think if you look into it you have a fiduciary obligation to the owner. I know I do, it is clearly stated in the statutes I am licensed under.
The hiding on a know asset, to acquire it later through deceit is amoral, and quite probably a case of criminal fraud.
A short joke to point out the thin line on morals and ethics.
A well dressed guy walks into a bar and sees a beautiful woman sitting alone.
He goes over and chats with her for a bit, and asks her if she will sleep with him for a million dollars. She looks him over, and replies that for a million sure she would.
He then asks her if she would do it for twenty. And she indignantly asks him what kind of woman he thinks she is.
To which he replies: We already established that, now we are negotiating towards a more reasonable fee.
So, if you set a price, even a high one, you're still a whore.
a little stinky,but also know that the owner may not sell to you at any price,she may love her house/neighbors.now what?
do you know how many nights you would lay awake knowing where the money is and no one is going to find it. i swear it would take 10 years off your life.
larry
thought of this,so you buy the house 6 months from now,gave 125k to much but who cares right? you tear the hole in the wall and no money,she knew it was there and took it..........if a man speaks in the forest,and there's not a woman to hear him,is he still wrong?
With all the popularity this story has received in the media, the next time I'm in the middle of a job and the client tries to jerk me around
I'm going to ask him what percentage he's giving me of the value of anything I find in the walls and then not say another word about it.
an entertaining post. sex toys to insider trading and lastly, tips for dealing with bad customers. For the right price I would probably try living with myself afterwards. Also for the post saying "if its not mine I don't take it" admirable indeed. It makes me wonder what would happen to the worlds great museums if that were attitude were carried out universally. Or for that matter any country built on land not fairly purchased or where they were not the first human inhabitants.
I'm surprised at the question. I don't see much difference between a contractor keeping valuables that he finds in the walls and valuables that he finds in my jewelry box.
One plumber found a ruby ring when he moved our washing machine. He turned it over to me. It wasn't my ring, so I sent it to the folks who had sold us the house.
nice answer! Would a moral compass at breaktime be considered a moral level or is it still moral compass?
Edited 12/19/2007 7:19 pm ET by MGMAN