Legal advise: Stuff stolen from my home while the house was being shown

[KnightedIbis]

Short story: I rent, the owner is selling my unit, I went snowboarding this weekend, forgot the realtor told me an inspection would be incurring. She text me at 8-9 in the morning, but I was already on the road so I couldn't lock away some personal items that were out. I didn't stress about it because she told me it would be one or two people - and I figured she'd be escorting them.

Well, it ends up being 8 or 9 people and the realtor of the owner didn't bother showing up - just gave them the lock box code to get in my place - she knew I wouldn't be there (I had told her every time she mentioned it).

Anyway, one of the individuals stole about $600 of silver from my house out of my closet - they had also gone into a personal lock box I had - that was unlocked - moved all of the items out - including my social security card.

I spoke with some people and they told me the realtor is 100% liable for the actions that occur in my house with people she let in. I tried calling her boss, but they are both taking a "no response" pattern with me. My friend told me any legal fees I have in pursuing this would be covered by them if I had to. but I'm just trying to see what my options are. Unfortunately I don't have renter's insurance, I know I'm an idiot - but even then, I wouldn't want to file a claim against that as I've heard there are long terms repercussions from doing so (home owner's insurance rates going up for e.g.).

 

[Bob the Citronaut]

Sucks to hear but wtf is wrong with people? It's not that difficult to find out who stole the stuff yet they did it anyways. The realtor is a moron and should be fired and then shot.
Posted from Rivals Mobile

 

[KnightedIbis]

Only one guy needed access to my attic and that access is where the silver was. So I'm 95% certain on which individual it was. The cops said it's basically he said/she said so they can't do anything unless the guy admitted to it.

What's messed up is that one guy has to come back to my house to get his radon unit. He'll have to look me in the eyes next time.

 

[Game_Day_Sports]

because there were so many people in the house unsupervised, you likely won't be able to get the cops involved. That being said, if the property owner isn't a douche, they will cover it just to do what is right. The realtor my be liable, but they are going to avoid you at all cost. There should have been a buyer's realtor there too. Somebody of authority should have been in the house.

 

[UCF11and1]

Take the key inside the lock box so they'll need you to open the door for them. I bet the realtor will call you then

 

[KnightedIbis]

The broker ended up talking with me this morning, he actually seems like a good dude and contacted his insurance. We'll see, my friend is a lawyer and asked me to detail everything with him any way just in case something doesn't go right and I decide later to pursue legal action.

 

[UCFWayne]

I wish the cops could do more in situations like this.

 

[YouSeeEffer]

Silver? You should have bought gold!

 

[KnightedIbis]

Originally posted by YouSeeEffer:
Silver? You should have bought gold!

F yeah, lol - then I would have lost $35k instead of $600... I actually considered buying a 10 ounce bar not long ago too... That would have been horrible.

 

[OlearyLookAlike]

Originally posted by KnightedIbis:
Short story: I rent, the owner is selling my unit, I went snowboarding this weekend, forgot the realtor told me an inspection would be incurring. She text me at 8-9 in the morning, but I was already on the road so I couldn't lock away some personal items that were out. I didn't stress about it because she told me it would be one or two people - and I figured she'd be escorting them.

Well, it ends up being 8 or 9 people and the realtor of the owner didn't bother showing up - just gave them the lock box code to get in my place - she knew I wouldn't be there (I had told her every time she mentioned it).

Anyway, one of the individuals stole about $600 of silver from my house out of my closet - they had also gone into a personal lock box I had - that was unlocked - moved all of the items out - including my social security card.

I spoke with some people and they told me the realtor is 100% liable for the actions that occur in my house with people she let in. I tried calling her boss, but they are both taking a "no response" pattern with me. My friend told me any legal fees I have in pursuing this would be covered by them if I had to. but I'm just trying to see what my options are. Unfortunately I don't have renter's insurance, I know I'm an idiot - but even then, I wouldn't want to file a claim against that as I've heard there are long terms repercussions from doing so (home owner's insurance rates going up for e.g.).

You should check with the state board that oversees real estate
licenses and also the Realtors association to see what action you could
take there. Basically this happened because the Realtor that was hired
to perform a service in a Fiduciary capacity failed to perform "reasonable care and diligence" that they must adhere to. They were too lazy to even show up to show the house they were hired to sell and decided to just let strangers into an occupied unit. That is a complete lack of competence and duty on their part.

At the end of the day the broker has responsibility for his/her agents and could have a problem here. Their license and reputation should mean a lot more to them than the money. I would pursue this even if they decide to pay because I guarantee this isn't the first time that agent has done this.

 

[fabknight]

Originally posted by KnightedIbis:
Only one guy needed access to my attic and that access is where the silver was. So I'm 95% certain on which individual it was. The cops said it's basically he said/she said so they can't do anything unless the guy admitted to it.

What's messed up is that one guy has to come back to my house to get his radon unit. He'll have to look me in the eyes next time.

How much is a radon unit worth?

 

[KnightedIbis]

Thanks, O'Leary - I'll definitely look into this. The Broker/GM has been really nice so far. He said this was the "first time in 18 years" blah blah...

And the thought about the Radon unit has crossed my mind... But I'm not messing with my own Karma, I believe the person responsible will pay for this one way or another.

 

[UCFRogerz]

So if the silver was in the attic, how did you find it missing?

 

[Steve A.]

Finger prints an option?

 

[Boston.Knight]

Gave who the lock box code? Another real estate agent or prospective buyers? If the latter, you are in for a big score because that's a no-no.

Real Estate agent is liable per attached link - especially since they didn't show up will give you more ammo in front of a judge in small claims court. . They did not maintain 'adequate' staffing levels by not showing up, and with all the theft that goes on during open house, will give you lots of fire power in a small claims court. Not that it would have mattered probably in your case if the listing agent was there or not, but it definitely helps in a he-said/she said court case. I recommend you start taking pictures now of where the silver was during the theft and start documenting everything from the amounts. Try to dig up receipts if you can get them, etc. Did you tell them "about $600 of silver". I would pad that amount a little bit, say $900 and settle at $600.

Apparently, you need to prove that you owned the items and they were stolen during the open house. Very hard to prove that unless you have a camcorder documenting everything. In other words, your word versus theirs. Scumbags will rifle through your underwear drawer and sniff or steal your wife's panties.


link

 

[Boston.Knight]

Forget "legal fees" angle. You are in a he said/she said situation regarding theft. Best case, you go to small claims court and plead your case to either a jury or a sympathetic judge. I would harp on the inadequate staffing angle, and try to get receipts or some sort of print out indicating proof of ownership for the stolen merchandise so that a judge has something tangible to give judgment on. If you can't get those receipts, I would try to settle with the real estate company. Tell them $900 got stolen, and then settle for $600.

You can also write off on your taxes whatever you can't collect. Not sure if you have to itemize or not.


This post was edited on 3/23 9:08 PM by Boston.Knight

 

[KnightedIbis]

Originally posted by UCFRogerz:
So if the silver was in the attic, how did you find it missing?

No, the attic access is in the closet. It was in plain view on the upper shelf of my closet (again, I completely forgot people would be in my house that day).

Originally posted by Steve A.:
Finger prints an option?

I asked, they didn't seem to want to even attempt it - still felt it was "he/she said" because the guy could have claimed he needed to move my stuff.

Boston - it seems the Realtor's insurance will work with me, I'm sure they'll do their own investigation. What sucks for me right now is the price I bought it at is lower than the price its worth now. Hopefully that plays into this - Silver did like a 10% run over the weekend, naturally...

 

[USFSucks]

I think that the real estate agent should lose their license, I had a very good friend who was helping me buy a house once, someone that completely trusted me, and she still wouldn't give me a code to a lock box because of fear of losing a license. This realtor needs to have serious consequences for this, hopefully losing their license and job, if for no other reason than to protect future homeowners.

 

[Boston.Knight]

> What sucks for me right now is the price I bought it at is lower than the price its worth now.

If you already told them an amount, it's probably not prudent to revise. Otherwise, what are we talking about - bullion, coins or something else? Either way, find something creative to get replacement value on the day the check is cut.

 

[KnightedIbis]

Originally posted by Boston.Knight:
> What sucks for me right now is the price I bought it at is lower than the price its worth now.

If you already told them an amount, it's probably not prudent to revise. Otherwise, what are we talking about - bullion, coins or something else? Either way, find something creative to get replacement value on the day the check is cut.

3 10 ounce bars - The police report is slightly inflated. I'm going to send them both my receipts and the actual replacement value at the time of me sending it to them - fortunately its only about a $10 difference at the moment - assuming they cover the fees/shipping too... We'll see...