Cash in the walls

[shardian]

The big debate over the people who found the billions in spanish gold is that:
A: There is still a shitload of gold down there.
B: Due to A, the company refuses to share the location of the site
C: Due to B, the Spanish government thinks that the site might actually be in their waters.

[FrizzleFried]

If you buy a piece of property and the very next day OIL is discovered on the property.  Guess who's oil that is?  The owners!  Did he lose that oil?  Was it HIS oil the day before?  Nope...but once his name is on the deed it is his oil! 

Look at gold mines...if you are deeded a gold mine and you find gold,  it's yours!  You didn't lose that gold there...

The money is hers and the judge is going to look at the contractor and say "Dude,  you should have taken the 10% you dumbass...my judgement is for the defendant plus court costs"...

[ChadTower]

There is a guy on the Red Sox, forget his name, that used some of his signing bonus to buy a bunch of land in Maine a couple of years back as a way of saving his money so he couldn't touch it...  a modest amount, maybe low 6 figures, and way up in nowhere Maine.  Didn't even have much in the way of access to it.

...a year or so later it was discovered that the land was absolutely brimming with some type of slate rock that is very much in demand now and is getting harder and harder to source.  The land was suddenly worth up to billion dollars.

Wish I could remember who it is, some utility player I think.

[shardian]

If you buy a piece of property and the very next day OIL is discovered on the property.  Guess who's oil that is?  The owners!  Did he lose that oil?  Was it HIS oil the day before?  Nope...but once his name is on the deed it is his oil! 

Look at gold mines...if you are deeded a gold mine and you find gold,  it's yours!  You didn't lose that gold there...

The money is hers and the judge is going to look at the contractor and say "Dude,  you should have taken the 10% you dumbass...my judgement is for the defendant plus court costs"...

NOT SO FAST, my friend. Mineral rights are separate from your property deed in many areas.  I don't believe I have any mineral rights in my area. I'd have to check to be sure though.

[ChadTower]

That varies by state but I could easily see VA and WV having separate mineral rights given the mining history there.

[btp2k2]

The Bluth Company must have been contracted to design that house

You're thinking of a banana stand.    Only thing in Bluth houses are fake turkeys with cereal inside, a fake Peter and the Wolf record, Tobias' secret stash of bodybuilding magazines and other "Homefill" goodies.

Secondly, wasn't that whole "cash hidden in the walls of an old house" the premise of a very bad episode of "What's Happening!"?

Ahh, I love random TV references.

They constantly referred to George's habit of hiding money and other valuables in the walls. Remember, when Michael started smashing the walls in the model home to find money to make bail if he had to go to jail and smashed through the bathroom to find Tobias after he "blue" himself....and GOB also found the papers with Saddam's signature in the office walls when he kept making holes so he could play billards.....but yeah, the banana stand was the only one to actually have cash...

[shardian]

The Bluth Company must have been contracted to design that house

You're thinking of a banana stand.    Only thing in Bluth houses are fake turkeys with cereal inside, a fake Peter and the Wolf record, Tobias' secret stash of bodybuilding magazines and other "Homefill" goodies.

Secondly, wasn't that whole "cash hidden in the walls of an old house" the premise of a very bad episode of "What's Happening!"?

Ahh, I love random TV references.

They constantly referred to George's habit of hiding money and other valuables in the walls. Remember, when Michael started smashing the walls in the model home to find money to make bail if he had to go to jail and smashed through the bathroom to find Tobias after he "blue" himself....and GOB also found the papers with Saddam's signature in the office walls when he kept making holes so he could play billards.....but yeah, the banana stand was the only one to actually have cash...

I have to ask: WTF are you guys talking about?? Maybe I'm too young or something, but I have absolutely no clue.

[billf]

The Bluth Company must have been contracted to design that house

You're thinking of a banana stand.    Only thing in Bluth houses are fake turkeys with cereal inside, a fake Peter and the Wolf record, Tobias' secret stash of bodybuilding magazines and other "Homefill" goodies.

Secondly, wasn't that whole "cash hidden in the walls of an old house" the premise of a very bad episode of "What's Happening!"?

Ahh, I love random TV references.

They constantly referred to George's habit of hiding money and other valuables in the walls. Remember, when Michael started smashing the walls in the model home to find money to make bail if he had to go to jail and smashed through the bathroom to find Tobias after he "blue" himself....and GOB also found the papers with Saddam's signature in the office walls when he kept making holes so he could play billards.....but yeah, the banana stand was the only one to actually have cash...

I have to ask: WTF are you guys talking about?? Maybe I'm too young or something, but I have absolutely no clue.

Thanks for posting that question Shardian, I thought it was just me.  So WTF are you guys talking about?

[hypernova]

Arrested Development.

WATCH IT!

[AtomSmasher]

The Bluth Company must have been contracted to design that house

You're thinking of a banana stand.    Only thing in Bluth houses are fake turkeys with cereal inside, a fake Peter and the Wolf record, Tobias' secret stash of bodybuilding magazines and other "Homefill" goodies.

Secondly, wasn't that whole "cash hidden in the walls of an old house" the premise of a very bad episode of "What's Happening!"?

Ahh, I love random TV references.

They constantly referred to George's habit of hiding money and other valuables in the walls. Remember, when Michael started smashing the walls in the model home to find money to make bail if he had to go to jail and smashed through the bathroom to find Tobias after he "blue" himself....and GOB also found the papers with Saddam's signature in the office walls when he kept making holes so he could play billards.....but yeah, the banana stand was the only one to actually have cash...

I have to ask: WTF are you guys talking about?? Maybe I'm too young or something, but I have absolutely no clue.

Thanks for posting that question Shardian, I thought it was just me.  So WTF are you guys talking about?

I think that the seal with the yellow bow tie might be the one that I released into the sea after giving it the taste for mammal blood.

[hypernova]

The $20 bill belongs to the owner.  Realistically, I'd probably pocket the $20 if I was volunteering to clean up some random lot.

Just wait until the wind blows it into neutral territory.  Oh look!  $20 in the street!

My opinion on this whole story, woman legally owes him nothing (or a finder's fee) or whatever the law explicitly states.
But she should've been more than willing to share a bit more.  Any sort of unscrupulous contractor would've found that box, tore the hell out of the home (on a subsequent visit to continue the job after learning the value,) and made off with the possible half million assets in question.
And she would've been none the wiser, only finding her home in a state of destruction.

Maybe it's just me...In a world filled with liars and greed, I think the woman should've offered more for the guy's complete honesty with the situation.  Unfortunately, she didn't, and he didn't take the 10% (not sure if there was any kind of negotiation,) so now they both look greedy.

[shmokes]

Arrested Development.

WATCH IT!

Seriously, go to Blockbuster at your first possible convenience and rent the first season.  You will probably watch every episode back-to-back.  It's that good.  It has the same effect on my 20-year-old college friends as my 50-year-old father-in-law.  It's easily the funniest thing on TV since Seinfeld; possibly the funniest sitcom ever.

[danny_galaga]

The money is hers and the judge is going to look at the contractor and say "Dude,  you should have taken the 10% you dumbass...my judgement is for the defendant plus court costs"...

yep. how could that dude even HOPE otherwise. it's entirely up to her. i should add that the only exception would be if the original owner claimed it, but i imagine he's long gone...

[shmokes]

I really don't think the original owner or his heirs/devisees could claim it.  Things that are fixed to/in the walls or ground are considered part of the property.  For example, if I bought your house and you decided that, while you were emptying it of all your belongings, you would retrieve all that expensive CAT 6 cable you had pulled, I could sue you for damages, cos that wire became part of the house when you installed it.  You don't have to have told me that the house comes wired for ethernet; the mere fact that the wires are in the wall means that the house comes with the wires.

As long as this guy's deed is good, everything inside the walls became his when he closed the deal on the property, even if the guy who sold him the house was the very person who accidentally forgot to take the money that he had personally hidden inside the walls.

[danny_galaga]

oh, good point. that's why your the law-type guy (",)

[btp2k2]

Arrested Development.

WATCH IT!

Seriously, go to Blockbuster at your first possible convenience and rent the first season.  You will probably watch every episode back-to-back.  It's that good.  It has the same effect on my 20-year-old college friends as my 50-year-old father-in-law.  It's easily the funniest thing on TV since Seinfeld; possibly the funniest sitcom ever.

It is also online now....http://arresteddevelopment.msn.com/

You can legally watch episodes on that site....I believe they have the entore series online

[knave]

Arrested Development.

WATCH IT!

Seriously, go to Blockbuster at your first possible convenience and rent the first season.  You will probably watch every episode back-to-back.  It's that good.  It has the same effect on my 20-year-old college friends as my 50-year-old father-in-law.  It's easily the funniest thing on TV since Seinfeld; possibly the funniest sitcom ever.

I don't know about "funniest show ever" I found a lot of the jokes to be lame after a certain hand was bitten off...After that it was hit or miss with some funny mixed in with pure crap. 

I gotta get me a stairmobile though...

[shardian]

I think I tried watching an episode or two in the first season. Thought it was kind of dumb...of course I've thought that about most of my favorite shows initially (Buffy, Angel, Roswell...)

[billf]

Well, my wife and I went ahead ordered the first season on DVD for a Christmas gift for ourselves.

[patrickl]

OK this is an old topic, but I think there was an unexpected twist.

CNN: Cash found in Ohio house leads to litigation, grief

The woman is considering bankrupcy and the descendants of the guy who hid the money in the walls were asking for money too. Hilarious.

[ChadTower]

Seems to me she did really, really well.  She spent $14,000 on a vacation.  Then $60,000 "was stolen" but never reported to police.  Suuuuuuuuuuuure it was... who the eff puts $60k in a shoebox in the closet?  She also "sold some rare 1920s bills"... so that's more to her.  Sounds like she did just fine.

And dude complains that sounding greedy hurt his business.  Well, duh, Sherlock.  You were greedy.

[patrickl]

Yeah, not sure how the bankruptcy would be tied to this. Although she claims the money was stolen buy the contractor (Kitts).

I really don't understand how the descendants of Dunne could claim the money. If you buy the house wouldn't that normally include everything that's inside the house when you take posession?

[ChadTower]

I'm guessing she settled with them so their lawsuits wouldn't eat the rest of the cash in attorney fees.  Consider it legal blackmail.

[mountain]

Another angle that I don't think was ever looked into: How did the original owner of the money manage to accumulate $182,000 in CASH back in the depression. I imagine that would be the equivalent of a few million beans today. 

[ChadTower]

It said he was wealthy... when the banks started to crash people ran straight to them and withdrew as much of their money as they were able.  It is plausible that someone would have cleared their accounts and stashed the cash someplace safe.

[Ed_McCarron]

Whether he was a business invitee or a social licensee, he can't walk away with stuff he finds on her property.

Sure he can.  I bet she didn't want anything to do with the dead mice, old insulation, and rotted boards he pulled out of the walls.  In fact, I'm sure his contract read "Contractor is responsible for disposition of all debris."  In that case, he had a leg to stand on, legally.  Morally?  Nah.  It was hers.

[SithMaster]

Whether he was a business invitee or a social licensee, he can't walk away with stuff he finds on her property.

Sure he can.  I bet she didn't want anything to do with the dead mice, old insulation, and rotted boards he pulled out of the walls.  In fact, I'm sure his contract read "Contractor is responsible for disposition of all debris."  In that case, he had a leg to stand on, legally.  Morally?  Nah.  It was hers.

So money counts as debris?

[shardian]

Whether he was a business invitee or a social licensee, he can't walk away with stuff he finds on her property.

Sure he can.  I bet she didn't want anything to do with the dead mice, old insulation, and rotted boards he pulled out of the walls.  In fact, I'm sure his contract read "Contractor is responsible for disposition of all debris."  In that case, he had a leg to stand on, legally.  Morally?  Nah.  It was hers.

So money counts as debris?

Green tin cans in the walls count. That is a good point you raised. However, he is only agreeing in contract to dispose of HER trash. The trash still belongs to the homeowner.

I don't see how the 22 descendants have a legal claim though. The house was sold, the money was sealed in the wall - thus becoming part of the house when the title changed hands.

That is like me finding out my grandpa sold a car without my knowledge, then I go to the person he sold it to and demand it back after he died!

[BobbyG66]

So if I am working on someone's house and I find a boat in the driveway, can I keep it? 

[ChadTower]

No, but if you find it embedded in the foundation, you can have the stern.

[Kevin Mullins]

Older article, but seems to have more details on the story than most I've found so far.
http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2008/02/woman_whose_contractor_found_c.html

As for heirs, descendants and such of Mr Dunne..... they are SOL .... that house has been sold 6 times over since it was pass down to them. If Mr Dunne had clearly noted the whereabouts of the money in his will and they can prove it then that would be a different story.

As for the contractor .... sorry dude .... should have took the 10%, it was a generous offer for something that you had zero rights to.

Amazing how shear greed brings out all the best of people. (not)
Some of them lawyers are just plain sleezy and manipulative.
What happened to some good ol' common sense and morals.