Need a moral ruling

[Josh G]

So the other day we were taking a walk around the neighborhood and finished up and were staring at the house next door to us.  The house has sat empty for over 2 years with no activity and no attempt to sell.  I suggested we go look in the back and see what the property looked like.  There are no fences or gates so we just walked right in.  When we reached the back I looked over at the patio and here is the brightest Lime grill you could find.  Sitting right next to it was a beautiful brownie.  So I went over and checked them out and got all excited but then soon realized they are not mine to take. There is no one to contact about them and no person to offer to buy from.  It kills me knowing that they are just sitting there less than 100 ft from me getting rained on and out in the cold. 

Any chance there is a ruling on abandoned items that would allow them to end up on my patio? 

[mrbill]

someone owns the house, even if nobody is currently living in it. that person owns those grills as well. I would leave them alone.

[dazzo]

You're keeping them safe until someone returns?

[Jeep]

Contact the town..they should have contact info about the owner...make a phone call...

[1buckie]

Check with county records to see what's up with ownership.......if it's a "drop the keys & walk" kind of deal, I'd think the stuff people left, they are not coming back for......

Not suggesting stealing things, but with the housing thing the way it was, people just left all their stuff & took off sometimes.....with diligent checking, it may turn out to be fair game?

This is one of the all-timer threads at WKC.....

http://weberkettleclub.com/forums/trading-post/18-5-lime-or-avacado-valpo-ind/

abandoned house....they left a Blackie in it's place as to be fair & not be stealing.....

[Troy]

Those grills would be in my garage. But I would definitely try to find previous person.  It's not "normal" for someone to own a lime and a brownie... that guy is one of US.

[harris92]

 Ditto to what Buckie "said".......

[terrymo]

Go to county records to find out who owns the property. Offer to do some maintenance on the property or to keep an eye on it periodically to prevent trespassers or vandals in exchange for the kettles. Whether you believe in kettle karma, the golden rule, or whatever, just taking them doesn't seem like the answer. Just my 2 cents.

[WNC]

That's a tough one...
I wouldn't want someone to take my grills, but then again I wouldn't leave my grills either.

[Craig]

Do your due diligence and make contacts firsts. To Troys point, if this person owns not one but two vintage colored kettles, there may be more than meets the eye (read possible grillfella) . The three R's come into play here. In this scenario it may be "Respect, then if applicable, "rescue then restore" the thought of a stolen kettle turns my stomach. Not that's what your doing but I think of it if it were mine and they got taken. Just my .02

[AZ Monsoon]

Taking the grills is stealing plain and simple. Someone owns that house. Contact the county assessor (lots of times you can look up the owner online on their site), find out who the owner is and make contact. If a bank owns the house, now you're entering a gray area What will happen then is the bank at some point will hire a crew and bring in a big dumpster to remove all the debris from the house / property. If the crew doesn't want the grills they will end up in the dumpster....

[1buckie]

Taking the grills is stealing plain and simple. Someone owns that house. Contact the county assessor (lots of times you can look up the owner online on their site), find out who the owner is and make contact. If a bank owns the house, now you're entering a gray area What will happen then is the bank at some point will hire a crew and bring in a big dumpster to remove all the debris from the house / property. If the crew doesn't want the grills they will end up in the dumpster....

This is precisely how I got my '60's Wok.....a friend worked on one of those crews......

[bwb]

What AZ and 1buckie said - if its a foreclosure then one day they will end up in the trash.

Is the rest of the house vacant?
If so secure them  in your garage and leave a note.
Get the owners info of the county property appraisers site and contact them.
Offer to buy them.

If not who knows where they will end up.

[Josh G]

I would never take them without permission, those grills could be of strong sentimental value to someone. I would be very upset if someone came into my yard and took mine. But those grills ending up in the dumpster would be a really sad day.

[MrHoss]

Don't let them wind up in a dumpster. Same as just takin' em' that would be a sin.