![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Dear Pay Dirt,
My husband and I own several rental houses. When my deadbeat brother needed a place to stay after he was fired from yet another job, I agreed to let him move into a recently-vacated house until he got back on his feet. He said it would be six months, tops. Six months turned into six years until he finally moved out in February. He never paid a penny in rent (my parents ended up giving us $500 a month on his behalf). However, he left some furniture behind. One of the pieces was an old secretary desk he got years ago at a consignment shop. After repeated attempts to get him to pick up his furniture, he finally told me, “do what you want with it.”
When my husband and I were going through the piece to get it ready for donation, we found a hidden compartment. Inside, we discovered a rare first edition comic book. We looked it up online, and given its near-perfect condition and scarcity, it could easily sell in the six-to-seven-figure range. I can’t imagine my brother was aware of it since he would have certainly sold it long ago if he knew about it. Are we under any obligation to share whatever proceeds we get from selling the comic book with him, since my brother relinquished his ownership of the furniture he left in the house to us?
—A Super Find
Dear Super,
Yes, your brother relinquished the desk, but he didn’t necessarily realize what he was giving up inside it. Under normal circumstances, the fair thing to do would be to give back the comic book —or at least give the person a heads up about it, and suggest splitting the profit. On the other hand, it sounds like he’s been taking advantage of a good situation for years, and, well, maybe this is your only chance at payback. So what sits right with you?
Only you can decide how to answer that question, but there are some factors to consider here. First, is there a chance that this is his comic book ? Could it be something he bought himself, or is it definitely something that came with the desk and he overlooked it? If it’s the former, the right thing to do is probably to give it back. But if you’re uncertain, asking him about it might not yield an honest answer. If he’s the kind of person to take advantage, he might take advantage of this scenario, too. Still, it’s something to think about. Also, you’re clearly carrying some resentment, and it may be warranted, but resentment is not necessarily something you want to shape your ethical choices. If you do decide to sell the comic book without letting your brother know about it, I’d check in with a lawyer first and make sure you truly have a claim to it.
But I’d probably just talk to him about the comic book. This isn’t, after all, really about the comic book, it’s about the fact that he overstayed his welcome and never paid you rent money. Trying to recuperate that lost income via this find might feel fair to you, but ultimately, it’s not exactly honest and might just end up weighing on your conscience. Also, did you ever talk to him directly about what you could and couldn’t offer him, housing-wise? It is your obligation as a landlord to be direct with tenets about what you can and cannot offer them—even if they are related to you. This might even be a good opportunity to clear the air, share your feelings directly, and pitch splitting the money from the comic book sale so that everyone comes out ahead.
—Kristin
Link
My husband and I own several rental houses. When my deadbeat brother needed a place to stay after he was fired from yet another job, I agreed to let him move into a recently-vacated house until he got back on his feet. He said it would be six months, tops. Six months turned into six years until he finally moved out in February. He never paid a penny in rent (my parents ended up giving us $500 a month on his behalf). However, he left some furniture behind. One of the pieces was an old secretary desk he got years ago at a consignment shop. After repeated attempts to get him to pick up his furniture, he finally told me, “do what you want with it.”
When my husband and I were going through the piece to get it ready for donation, we found a hidden compartment. Inside, we discovered a rare first edition comic book. We looked it up online, and given its near-perfect condition and scarcity, it could easily sell in the six-to-seven-figure range. I can’t imagine my brother was aware of it since he would have certainly sold it long ago if he knew about it. Are we under any obligation to share whatever proceeds we get from selling the comic book with him, since my brother relinquished his ownership of the furniture he left in the house to us?
—A Super Find
Dear Super,
Yes, your brother relinquished the desk, but he didn’t necessarily realize what he was giving up inside it. Under normal circumstances, the fair thing to do would be to give back the comic book —or at least give the person a heads up about it, and suggest splitting the profit. On the other hand, it sounds like he’s been taking advantage of a good situation for years, and, well, maybe this is your only chance at payback. So what sits right with you?
Only you can decide how to answer that question, but there are some factors to consider here. First, is there a chance that this is his comic book ? Could it be something he bought himself, or is it definitely something that came with the desk and he overlooked it? If it’s the former, the right thing to do is probably to give it back. But if you’re uncertain, asking him about it might not yield an honest answer. If he’s the kind of person to take advantage, he might take advantage of this scenario, too. Still, it’s something to think about. Also, you’re clearly carrying some resentment, and it may be warranted, but resentment is not necessarily something you want to shape your ethical choices. If you do decide to sell the comic book without letting your brother know about it, I’d check in with a lawyer first and make sure you truly have a claim to it.
But I’d probably just talk to him about the comic book. This isn’t, after all, really about the comic book, it’s about the fact that he overstayed his welcome and never paid you rent money. Trying to recuperate that lost income via this find might feel fair to you, but ultimately, it’s not exactly honest and might just end up weighing on your conscience. Also, did you ever talk to him directly about what you could and couldn’t offer him, housing-wise? It is your obligation as a landlord to be direct with tenets about what you can and cannot offer them—even if they are related to you. This might even be a good opportunity to clear the air, share your feelings directly, and pitch splitting the money from the comic book sale so that everyone comes out ahead.
—Kristin
Link
no subject
If LW is legally obligated to return the comic to Brother, which LW might actually be even if they've got the written evidence that he said "do what you want with [the desk]", the last thing they want is to have any sort of evidence of their shady shenanigans floating about.
If they'd spoken to a lawyer, now, they could've then done what they liked under the assumption that nobody could ever figure it out. Now there's a teeny tiny chance somebody will figure it out. Probably they're still in the clear, but still.
In conclusion, never ever put it in writing.
no subject
(Assuming, as usual, that it's a real letter.)
no subject
1. Get the comic book valued first. There's no point in bringing it up with the brother until you know whether it really is worth six figures or whether it might get you $2.50 at the nearest local comic shop.
2. If it's not worth that much, or if we're talking three or even low four figures vs. six, sell it and keep the money as an inconvenience charge.
3. If it really is worth a significant chunk, yeah, check with a lawyer first, but assuming the lawyer says "yep, all yours," sell it.
4. Split the proceeds into two parts: what you'd have gotten for market rent on the house over the six years, and whatever's left.
5. Assuming your parents didn't pressure you to take in your brother in the first place: From the market rent pile, pull out what your parents gave you towards his rent. Either pay them back, or put that money in an account to use when your parents need help (paying for a caregiver or assistant, etc.). (If they did pressure you to take him in, then skip this step.)
6. The rest of the market rent pile is yours, no guilt, no obligation.
7. If there's a significant amount of money in the leftovers pile, yeah, maybe he should have a share -- then again, the person who sold the desk to the consignment shop in the first place has as much of a moral claim on it as your brother. So if you feel guilty, put part of that money in an account to use for the next time you feel you need to help your brother or his dependents. Otherwise, use that money for a financial cushion.
no subject
no subject
(I do hesitate to say they should keep "market rent" because, well. Landlords. Market rent. But they should at least keep enough to cover reasonable costs for the time he was in the house, incl. maintenance, taxes, utilities, mortgage, and their time.)
That said this is so close to the plot of *several* different mystery books I read in elementary school that I deeply wonder if it's real. (I also find it hard to imagine where a comic book could be hidden in a secretary desk for years that would leave it in VF+ condition, and you aren't getting five figures otherwise.)
no subject
And if they do...they put in the work to find the right buyer etc. Brother did not. If he bought something worth 6-7 figures himself, he will probably not leave any stone unturned in his attempt to find it. "Hey, maybe I left it at the house I was staying in" will have occurred to him. If he bought something he didn't know was worth 6-7 figures and did not care to dispose of himself, he has exactly what he gets from it.
no subject
I have a hard time imagining a comic being unprotected in a desk and being anything approaching fine let alone near perfect. that paper is so soft.